Ontario School Board Council of Unions
Province Wide – OSBCU Services Survey
CUPE-OSBCU conducted a survey with CUPE represented school board workers,
asking a variety of questions about staffing and services. Province wide, there
were over 12,000 CUPE education worker respondents. CUPE-OSBCU has been releasing results in a series of press conferences and press releases around the province. This report provides some of the most significant results from the survey for the province as a whole.
PETERBOROUGH, ON – At a press conference this morning CUPE locals representing more than 3200 education workers in the Peterborough area called on the Ford government to immediately increase funding for school boards and remedy the crisis in understaffing, sky rocketing violence, and lack of student supports.
A recent survey of Ontario education workers, including Educational Assistants, Early Childhood Educators, Child and Youth workers, custodians, maintenance and trades workers, and school secretaries represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) shows that a severe crisis in underfunding has led to extreme understaffing, students’ needs going unmet, and increased violence in the Kawartha Pine Ridge, Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic and Trillium Lakelands district school boards.
Read the full CUPE-OSBCU Services Survey report for the Peterborough-area.
The CUPE-OSBCU survey included over 12,000 respondents from across Ontario, with close to 1200 from the Kawartha Pine Ridge, Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic and Trillium Lakelands district school boards.
This school year alone, the Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB has faced a minimum of a $40 million cut by the Conservative government to real per-pupil funding, the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic DSB has faced a real per-pupil cut of $16 million, and Trillium Lakelands DSB has lost over $19 million.
This severe underfunding leaves students and workers at risk because there are too few staff in schools. It also means students have their learning environments disrupted on a regular basis, creating an environment that is far from conducive to having the highest quality of education.
CUPE education workers across the province are calling on the Ford government adequately staff school boards so that education workers can do their jobs with dignity and respect, and address the crisis of violence across Ontario school boards.
The OSBCU represents more than 57,000 education workers across the province.
Quotes:
Joe Tigani, President of OSBCU: It is abundantly clear that the education system in Ontario at a breaking point. For years, the Conservative government has continued to cut billions of dollars in funding to the education sector, causing extreme understaffing, increased violence against staff and students, and our students’ needs being neglected. There is no question that the Ford government has abandoned the education sector. The Ontario government must increase its investment in students and education workers and address this situation immediately. Students deserve better, parents deserve better, and our education workers deserve better.
Nora Shaughnessy, President of CUPE 1453: CUPE 1453 represents over 700 members across the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board. Our members deal with extreme understaffing, underfunding, a dire need for more supports for students and staff, and violent incidents every day. Members are exhausted and burned out. They are frequently taking on two or three of their coworkers’ jobs at once without getting paid for it. We can’t allow this to happen any longer. We need more funding, and we need more staffing and support. Right now, the board wants to spend thousands of dollars on changing their name, while our workers are afraid to take a day off when they’ve been injured on the job because they know that no one will replace them, and the students will suffer. It’s astounding.
Bill Campbell, President of CUPE 997: CUPE 997 represents close to 800 CUPE education workers in the Trillium Lakelands District School Board. There is an enormous understaffing issue in our school board. Our schools are not being cleaned properly because there are nowhere near enough custodians to keep up with the mounting workload. If there are two custodians in a school, and one custodian goes on vacation, the other is often left with twice the workload to finish in their eight-hour shift, which is completely impossible and can create a dangerous environment for staff and students. The end result is that schools are not as clean as they were or should be. The board told us last spring that only 50 percent of Educational Assistants are replaced when they’re away. Our board also boasted an $8 million surplus in the fall. Yes, it’s true that we need more funding from the Ford government, but we also need Trillium Lakelands DSB to recognize that our schools are in crisis.
Laurie Lucciola, Custodian and member of CUPE 5555: I’ve worked at the Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB for 24 years, both as an Educational Assistant and now as a custodian. We are constantly short staffed in all classifications. We are overburdened with work and jobs go delayed or just don’t get done at all because we don’t have enough staff on the floor. We do the best we can do with the supports that are available to us, but the government has got to provide more funding to create a safe and inclusive environment for Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB students and staff. How do we expect our students to learn when they’re not given the supports they need? It’s just not possible.
Numbers at a Glance:
A high quality publicly funded education system should be the priority of any government. It has a direct correlation to how to succeed as a society, province and country, and how we compete in an increasingly global economic environment. Publicly funded education is fundamental to the maintenance and support of a democratic society that informs and engages all students in becoming active and well-informed citizens of Ontario and of Canada.
Organizations representing partners for publicly funded education in Ontario have come together to share our concerns, discuss various issues and collaborate on strategies to ensure that our publicly funded education system remains a model of excellence.
We are facing a critical juncture wherein our publicly funded education system is grappling with severe staff shortages, chronic underfunding and a pervasive lack of respect. These challenges threaten the very foundation of the education our children and young people deserve.
The staffing crisis in our schools has reached a critical level. The absence of qualified teachers, education workers and administrators not only strains existing staff, but also compromises the quality of education our students receive. Investing in better working conditions and improving recruitment and retention policies at the local and provincial levels can address the gaps for students who are missing out on pivotal learning opportunities.
Staff shortages in schools are further exacerbated by the persistent underfunding of our education system. It is disheartening to see and hear that education is often viewed as an expense, rather than a vital investment in our future. The government and the Ministry of Education must shift their perspective and recognize that investing in education yields substantial societal and economic long-term benefits. Education is not merely a service; it is a cornerstone of our society. Teachers, principals/vice-principals and school staff are dedicated professionals who work tirelessly to empower the next generation, and they deserve to be respected, valued and celebrated.
We call on policymakers, community members and partners to join us in advocating for sufficient investments, respectful working conditions and a renewed vision for education. Together, we can create an environment where our publicly funded schools are thriving, every student has access to quality education and educators feel supported and respected.
Every student deserves the best publicly funded education possible and the best learning conditions, and we know that by working together, we can accomplish this goal. Our young people are owed this opportunity, and it is our shared responsibility to ensure they receive it.
LONDON, ON – At a press conference this morning CUPE locals representing more than 5000 education workers in the London area called on the Ford government to immediately increase funding for school boards and remedy the crisis in understaffing, sky rocketing violence, and lack of student supports.
A recent survey of Ontario education workers, including Educational Assistants, Early Childhood Educators, Child and Youth workers, custodians, maintenance and trades workers, and school secretaries represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) shows that a severe crisis in underfunding has led to extreme understaffing, students’ needs going unmet, and increased violence in the Thames Valley District and London District Catholic school boards.
Read the full CUPE-OSBCU Services Survey report for the London-area.
The CUPE-OSBCU survey included over 12,000 respondents from across Ontario, with close to 1400 from the Thames Valley District and London District Catholic school boards.
This school year alone, the Thames Valley DSB has faced a minimum of a $93 million cut by the Conservative government to real per-pupil funding and London District Catholic School Board has faced a real per-pupil cut of $31 million.
This severe underfunding leaves students and workers at risk because there are too few staff in schools. It also means students have their learning environments disrupted on a regular basis, creating an environment that is far from conducive to having the highest quality of education.
CUPE education workers across the province are calling on the Ford government adequately staff school boards so that education workers can do their jobs with dignity and respect, and address the crisis of violence across Ontario school boards.
The OSBCU represents more than 57,000 education workers across the province.
Joe Tigani, President of OSBCU: It is abundantly clear that the education system in Ontario at a breaking point. For years, the Conservative government has continued to cut billions of dollars in funding to the education sector, causing extreme understaffing, increased violence against staff and students, and our students’ needs being neglected. There is no question that the Ford government has abandoned the education sector. The Ontario government must increase its investment in students and education workers and address this situation immediately. Students deserve better, parents deserve better, and our education workers deserve better.
Rebecca Avey, President of CUPE 7575: I represent over 1700 educational assistants and student support supervisors throughout the Thames Valley District School Board. 10 years ago, our job was to provide educational assistance to small groups of students and support them in math and English and their other studies. Now we rarely do that. Our job has become about protecting students, our coworkers and ourselves from violence. Our primary role at this point is behavioural support for students who are struggling to self-regulate within the education system. I’ve seen the learning conditions change from a model that was student focused and supportive, to a model that is reactive and lacking supports. Right now, all we’re trying to do is get students and workers safely through their day. The absolute bare minimum. We need the government to implement a plan for concrete action immediately.
Tracey Cooper, President of CUPE 4186: CUPE 4186 represents almost 2000 CUPE education workers in the London District Catholic School Board. Our members deal with extreme understaffing, underfunding, a dire need for more supports for students and staff, and violent incidents every day. Members are exhausted and burned out. They are frequently taking on two or three of their coworkers’ jobs at once without getting paid for it. The survey showed that over 140 full-time jobs are done for free by CUPE education workers at London-area school boards. We can’t allow this to happen any longer. We need more funding, and we need more staffing and support.
Mary Henry, President of CUPE 4222: Our members who work in custodial services and in maintenance are overburdened with work; they cannot finish their workloads in a day. Almost all maintenance workers say there are jobs that are delayed or go undone because there’s just too much work and not enough staff. Our clerical workers are tremendously overworked: their offices become a dumping ground for students with unmet needs. Unfortunately, violence is a major issue for all of our members. They face harassment, intimidation and hostile environments coming from all angles. This must stop. Our members can’t go on like this and neither can our students.
Numbers at a Glance:
Beginning in April 2022, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development (“MLITSD”, “the Ministry”) conducted a two-phase awareness and enforcement initiative to address workplace violence (“WV”) at Ontario’s K-12 School Boards. The enforcement phase of the initiative concluded on March 31, 2023. To guide its members in achieving meaningful outcomes from this initiative, the OSBCU provided resources and guidance to CUPE Locals in the sector prior to the inspection blitz.
Ministry enforcement inspectors conducted over 340 visits to schools and board offices in Ontario. They issued employers approximately 114 orders of non-compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”), including seven (7) requirements to provide documentation to inspectors. Still, we observed many instances where inspectors noted in their field visit report (“FVR”) areas of employer’s non-compliance with the OHSA but refused to issue orders. Instead, the inspectors allowed employers to self-comply in the circumstances.
The OSBCU collected and charted many of the inspector’s FVRs. Based on the reports and orders issued, we recommend the following for the OSBCU Executive, CUPE Locals in the K-12 sector, CUPE Joint Health and Safety Committee members and Health and Safety Representatives dealing with the
following:
For CUPE Locals, CUPE Health and Safety Representatives, Leads and Committee members:
