Ontario CUPE Education Workers Union Voted To Accept New Deal With Government

The Ontario education support workers have voted to accept a new contract with the provincial government, ending a lengthy and contentious negotiation process.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing about 55,000 employees, announced the contract’s ratification on Monday.
The tentative agreement was accepted by 73 percent of members, according to the bargaining committee.
“For the first time in a decade, education workers have achieved a collective agreement that did not impose terms through legislation,” the union said in a statement.
The union said they had “unprecedented member engagement,” with about 76 per cent of its members participating in the ratification vote.
Under the new agreement, all workers would receive a $1 flat rate hourly wage increase, or about 3.59 per cent annually. The government has said this would result in a “significant pay increase” for the union’s lowest paid members.