In the event that education employees from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) strike on Friday, the Limestone District School Board has threatened to switch to online instruction.
Threats of a walkout put local parents in a panic as time is running short.
A parent from Kingston, Ontario named Christine Law remarked, “It’s going to be a juggling act again.”
The likelihood that students will once again be absent from class on Friday is growing.
This time, a labour issue rather than COVID-19 is driving young people back to online learning.
The union comprising early childhood educators, librarians, custodians, and school administration personnel in Ontario has said they will walk out of their jobs despite efforts by the provincial government to compel a contract deal.
It implies that parents must once more figure out how to make everything work.
I’ll have to move to working remotely from home, which I am able to do. But I’m not joking, it is difficult,” added Jamie McKenzie-Naish, a parent herself.
On Monday, the LDSB issued a notice that schools in the region would not be able to operate without the 1,100 support staff workers and would move to emergency online learning in the event of a strike Nov. 4.
We carried it out during COVID.
I, my family, and I will survive again, and hopefully everything will work out well in the end for everyone concerned, said McKenzie-Naish.
On Wednesday, CUPE president Laura Walton of the Ontario School Board Council of Unions announced that the strike would go on indefinitely.
It likely means an open-ended stint of remote learning, something parents are familiar with.
If we’re still at home on Monday morning, I’ll just sort of work it out as we go then, said Law. “I’ll just take it as Friday comes,” he added.
Another question is if the union and the administration can work out a solution to prevent a protracted school closure.
The union claims it wants to resume negotiations, but the government won’t consider any fresh ideas until they agree to call off Friday’s strike action.
Parents and students are playing a game of chicken, waiting to see what will happen if neither side applies the brakes.
If education employees strike, the Limestone District School Board says it will switch to online instruction.
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