In the event of a CUPE strike, the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board will be limiting access to all schools, which means students are not to attend school beginning on Monday, Nov. 21 should strike action take place, the board said in a media release.
CUPE has recently announced its intentions to fully withdraw its services in schools as of Monday, Nov. 21, should a collective agreement not be reached.
CUPE represents many workers in the Catholic board including school and board office clerical, caretakers, dayworkers and maintenance staff, educational assistants, early childhood educators, early years’ assistants and library maintenance workers.
As a result, should strike action begin on Monday, students will learn remotely from home until further notice, the board said in a news release sent on behalf Chairperson Gary Trembinski and director of education Danny Viotto.
If it was possible, schools would be open to in-person learning, they said.
However, they said this is not a possibility since it cannot ensure the health, safety and wellness of students and staff with more than 30 per cent of its employees not present in its schools.
This is also the case for many other boards throughout the province, they noted.
If there are any changes regarding this issue over the next few days, the board will advise parents and guardians of the status of student learning as soon as possible either through direct messages, via its website, and on our social media platforms.
They said they continued to pray for a quick resolution to the situation. In the event that the CUPE strike ends and their members return to work, in-person instruction will begin immediately.