Unifor members showed up in force to lend their voices to the thousands who attended the Rally for Education to oppose devastating changes to Ontario’s education system by the Conservative government.
“It is clear that Ford is hell-bent on implementing his corporate agenda with no qualms about injuring the most vulnerable or tearing down cherished institutions, as witnessed by his attack on elementary and highschool students and their teachers,” said National President Jerry Dias.
After a mass student walkout on Thursday, protesters filled the lawn of the Queen’s Park legislature on Saturday April 6, 2019, spilling out onto surrounding streets. Teachers, parents, students and workers united to demand a halt to plans to increase class sizes and eliminate thousands of teacher and support jobs.
Education Ministry memos acquired by the Toronto Star report that the Conservatives plan to cut 3,475 teaching jobs in Ontario. The average secondary school expected to see a loss of 11 full time teachers.
The Conservative government intends to:
- Increase class sizes in grades 4-8 and in high school; reducing attention given to students and limiting access to equipment and other resources
- Cut thousands of teacher and support staff jobs
- Remove 1.4 billion dollars from the public education system
- Download the government’s duty to support higher needs students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) onto schools without adequate funding
- Require students to take several online courses; replacing personal attention with e-learning
- Introduce a regressive sexual education curriculum