Upper Grand District School Board releases statement on provincial labour negotiations

November 4, 2022 · 0 Comments

Linda Busuttil, chair of the board for the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) and Peter Sovran, director of education, released the following statement on Oct. 31: “The UGDSB continues to monitor the provincial labour negotiations closely. Bargaining takes place at both the provincial and local levels. Education unions are currently bargaining at the provincial level only. In the UGDSB, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) represents custodial and maintenance staff, as well as adult ESL instructors. The board highly respects and values our CUPE staff and honours the collective bargaining process.

“Should there be a withdrawal of services by CUPE staff on Friday, we will do our best to keep UGDSB schools and programs open. Despite the efforts of UGDSB management and non-unionized this will become very difficult without our valued CUPE staff.

“Please see below for the following updates beginning on Friday November 4, 2022, should there be a withdrawal of services by CUPE staff:

• Community Use of Schools: Community Use of Schools (CUS) permits at schools/sites that have CUPE custodial staff will be canceled. For a list of which UGDSB schools/sites have CUPE custodial staff, please refer to our FAQ: https://www.ugdsb.ca/board/labour-updates-2022-23/labour-updates-2022-23-frequently-asked-questions-faq/

• Before and/or After School Programs & Child Care: BASP services and Child Care centres will remain open

• Adult ESL classes: All Adult ESL classes offered through Continuing Education will be cancelled. This includes the Adult ESL classes located at St. George’s Centre, Tytler Public School and the Wellington Centre for Continuing Education

“Please note that if there is a withdrawal of services, there may be picket lines and/or protests at school and board sites – we ask that everyone please respect these demonstrations. Additional information about picket lines will be shared this week on the UGDSB website at www.ugdsb.ca/labour.

“We appreciate that this news and potential disruption can be very upsetting. Everyone’s cooperation, patience and understanding are greatly appreciated. We are committed to maintaining strong, respectful relationships and to transparent communication.

“Information will be shared regularly each Monday evening and whenever more timely communication is necessary. Updates will continue to be posted online at www.ugdsb.ca/labour.”