‘Burnout and violence’: Education workers calling for more support in schools

Education workers in London rallied, calling for more support from the government.

Education workers and labour leaders are begging Ontario’s premier to provide more support in schools.

“I’ve had a table thrown at me – the big conference tables thrown across the room at me – from a student,” said Tracey Cooper, president of CUPE 4186, who represents almost 2000 CUPE education workers in the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB)

“We have members who to work in Kevlar because they are trying to protect themselves. We need more support in school and we need more staff.”

CUPE local leaders, who represent over 5,000 education workers in Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and the LDCSB held a rally in London, Ont. Saturday, which brought together education workers, parents, students, labour leaders, and community supporters.

They are calling for increased education funding, improved staffing levels, and safer learning environments in schools.

“I would say burnout and violence would be our top two,” said Rebecca Avey, an educational assistant and president of CUPE 7575, which represents over 1,700 educational assistants and student support supervisors in the TVDSB.

“There is not enough of us. When students don’t get what they need, they become dysregulated. We become injured. We end up being victims of the circumstance of that classic circle of underfunding versus student need versus violence. We need to break that cycle.”

Avey also points to a recent report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which says the Ford government has underfunded the education system by $6.3 billion since 2018.

“The $6.3 billion you’ve taken out, like you need to put that in,” said Avey.

“You can’t expect to have education and it continue to function and be productive and that everybody gets what they need. You need to put the funding back into the students, back into the community and what matters. Those are our future CEOs, those are our future doctors, and they matter and that’s where the money belongs.”

Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Paul Calandra have consistently defended their budgeting. The provincial government has disputed the accounting of the figure and point instead to record overall provincial investments in education and dismissing the claims as political distractions.

CUPE representatives are pushing back saying their members in the London-area are facing severe violence in schools, chronic understaffing, and increasing student needs because of an underfunding and understaffing crisis.

“We are drowning in workloads, and we are drowning without staff,” said Mary Henry, president of CUPE 4222, who represent custodians, ECEs, drivers, and secretaries.

“We need the funds to go back into the school and we’re trying to call out the government to properly use the money that’s allocated for public sector to actually go into the public sector. He needs to he should put all the money in there for of what the taxpayers paid for.”

Cooper estimates the LDCSB could use an additional three to four staff members per school, but stresses replacements are equally important.

“We don’t have enough casuals to replace our staff when they’re sick,” said Cooper.

“A lot of the lash outs come from frustration because they’re not getting the supports that they need. So, there’s just not enough of us. We are spread around too thin and things are getting just left behind.”