At a press conference held on September 23,
representatives of education workers organized in the Canadian Union of
Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, addressed the demand for protections
from COVID-19 for workers and students at post-secondary institutions.
Kathleen Webster, Vice-Chair of CUPE Ontario's University Sector and
Chief Steward of CUPE 2361 representing support staff members at the
University of Western Ontario, said:
"For the entire pandemic, we have been asking the Ford Conservatives
to consult with students and university workers. They have not. They
have ignored us. Had they spoken to us we would have told them that,
given decades of underfunding, many of our universities have not had
the funds needed to invest in capital repairs, including the
kinds of improvements to ventilation that would be necessary to stop
the spread of COVID. We would have told them that years of underfunding
had led many of our Universities to cut staff, contract out cleaning
and maintenance services to the lowest bidder, and reduce cleaning
standards to the level of 'unkempt' neglect which is not good enough
in the best of times but is particularly problematic during a public
health crisis like COVID-19."
Sharoni Mitra, President of CUPE 3906, representing workers at McMaster University, said:
"I can't say it clearly enough: removing these important measures is
endangering students and workers at McMaster. Right now, McMaster is
allowing up to 100 students in classrooms with no distancing measures.
We're also seeing tutorials in small, crowded basement spaces. There's
no confirmation of cleaning schedules in shared office
space, and there's no commitment to allow workers to choose to work
remotely where possible."
Amy Conwell, Chair of CUPE 3902, representing academic workers at the University of Toronto (U of T), said:
"As expected, this September looks a lot like a regular,
pre-pandemic semester. Despite the ongoing pandemic, prevalence of the
Delta variant, and likelihood of transmission in closed, crowded
settings like classrooms and laboratories, U of T has few real
workplace controls in place, especially at the St. George campus.
Consequently, we
simply do not have confidence that U of T's COVID-19 mitigation
strategy will keep workers and students safe. But we also don't have
confidence in the Ford Conservatives."
Sherri Ferris, President of CUPE 229, representing custodial, trades, and food service workers at Queens University, said:
"As support staff on campus, we know the Ford Conservatives are not
doing enough to ensure a safe return to in-person learning. This
decision to lift in person capacity limits was sprung on us at the last
minute by the Ford Conservatives. Basically, the day before school
opened, the Ford Conservatives made this regulation and exempted
universities."
Fred Hahn, President CUPE Ontario, said:
"If it is clear to the Ford Conservatives that a mandatory
vaccination policy alone is simply not enough to protect us in a movie
theatre, why is it not clear to them that the same is true in a lecture
hall? They know better and it's so unconscionable that the province
would remove critical measures like capacity limits and physical
distancing
requirements for indoor instructional spaces, like classrooms and labs.
We need these measures in place immediately to keep students and the
30,000 CUPE Ontario support and academic workers on campuses safe."
This article was published in
September 27, 2021 - No. 88
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08884.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
