“Early this morning, negotiators for the Toronto District School Board and CUPE 4400 gave Mort Mitchnick, who had been acting as a mediator in the negotiations, the jurisdiction of an arbitrator.
Mr. Mitchnick then issued an Order of Arbitrator which spelled out a process for ending the strike and for resolving the issues in dispute through binding arbitration.
The union agreed to the binding arbitration process because it protects what weve already won at the bargaining table and provides a fairer process for resolving issues in dispute.
The parties then approached the Provincial Government to request that the TDSB and CUPE 4400 be exempt from the back-to-work legislation, Bill13.
The Government has not yet indicated that it will amend Bill 13 to allow this binding arbitration process to proceed.
If the Government does not amend Bill 13 to allow the binding arbitration process, the opening of Toronto schools will be delayed.
Under Bill 13, once the legislation is passed both parties have up to two school days, not including weekends, to resume operations and return to work.
Even if the Bill passed today, schools would not likely open until the middle of next week.
Under the binding arbitration process agreed to by the TDSB and CUPE 4400, cleaning could begin Saturday and schools could reopen as early as Monday.
The binding arbitration process agreed to by the TDSB and CUPE 4400 is better for CUPE 4400 members and better for Toronto students and parents than the arbitration process laid out in the governments back-to-work legislation.
For further information, please contact:
Maggie Davidson, CUPE 4400: 416-597-3975, ext. 225