Monday, December 5 - Agreement Ratified
Today, it was announced that CUPE members voted to officially accept the new deal with the provincial government. Thank you to all the families, students, and community members and partners who worked through this time with us.
Negotiation updates get posted to our social media channels as they are available:
November 18, 2022 – Tentative Agreement Reached
CUPE and the Provincial Government reached an agreement during their negotiations. All DSBN schools will be open according to regular schedules tomorrow (Monday, November 21).
November 18, 2022 – Update
The provincial government and CUPE have agreed that their negotiations over the weekend will have a deadline of 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 20. We will now be able to share updated information with you shortly after 5:00 p.m on Sunday.
Whether an agreement is reached, or if CUPE withdraws their services on Monday, November 21, we will share information with families via School Messenger, our negotiation updates web page, and DSBN social media channels.
November 17, 2022 - Update on possible strike action
As the provincial government and CUPE continue their negotiations this week and through the weekend, we wanted to inform families of the plans we have in place should there be a strike on Monday, November 21.
We are hopeful for a resolution before Monday morning. If an agreement is reached, we will inform families that schools are open through School Messenger, our negotiation updates web page and DSBN social media channels before 6:00 a.m. on Monday, November 21.
If CUPE withdraws their services on Monday, November 21, all DSBN schools will be closed to students for in-person learning. We will post a message confirming the closure of all schools on our school websites and DSBN social media channels by 6:00 a.m., Monday morning.
Student Learning Plans
If strike action does happen, students will be able to continue their learning with their teachers synchronously online:
- Elementary: Teachers will connect with families through email with their plans for online learning and TEAM Meetings. Teachers will proactively send home resources and activities to support lessons. Students will receive a combination of synchronous, group, and independent asynchronous learning. Teachers will remain available online to students during class time
- Secondary: Teachers will connect with students at their normal bell times on Microsoft Teams, or a method normally used by the class, such as D2L. Teachers will remain available online to students during class time
Additional Information
A CUPE strike will include cancellations and/or postponements of most activities and access to facilities. Please see below for what we will be open, closed or cancelled in event of a strike:
- DSBN Schools: All elementary and secondary schools will be closed to students
- Child Care: Individual child care programs in DSBN schools will decide if they will stay open. Please contact your child care provider directly for more information
- EarlyON Centres: Will be closed
- Extracurriculars: After hours sports, practices, and other activities will be cancelled and/or re-scheduled
- Transportation: Student transportation will not be available
- Community Rentals: All school permits will be cancelled
- Adult Continuing Education: All in-person adult continuing education classes will be cancelled
We are monitoring this situation closely. New information will be shared here on our website and on DSBN social media channels as soon as it becomes available. Please continue to check in for updates.
November 16, 2022 - Update
Today, CUPE (the Canadian Union of Public Employees) announced that following a week of negotiations between CUPE and the provincial government, a provincial agreement has not yet been reached. As a result, CUPE has confirmed they have given the province their five-days' notice of a potential province-wide strike.
What this means for Families
If a deal is not reached between CUPE and the provincial government by Monday, November 21, 2022, CUPE may withdraw their services, and there could be another province-wide strike on Monday, November 21. If this happens, all DSBN schools will be closed to students.
We will continue to keep DSBN families, students, staff, and community members up to date with the most recent information as it becomes available. Please continue to monitor this web page and our DSBN social media channels, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
November 7, 2022 - Schools Will Be Open on November 8, 2022
Today, the provincial government and CUPE have announced they will be returning to the negotiating table. This news means that all DSBN schools will OPEN to in-person learning for Tuesday, November 8. Schools will continue to stay open to in-person learning while negotiations are ongoing between CUPE and the province.
We know this has been a difficult time, and we thank you for working through this situation with us. If families and students have any questions, please reach out to your school principal.
November 4, 2022 - Important Update
There has been no further communication from CUPE on whether they will be returning to work on Monday, November 7.
If CUPE members return to work on Monday, then all DSBN schools will be open to in-person learning.
However, if CUPE members continue to withdraw their services on Monday, then all DSBN schools will remain closed to students for in-person learning. Please be assured that if schools remain closed on Monday, teachers will be providing remote learning opportunities to students.
We will be monitoring this situation closely over the weekend, and we will share an update as soon as it's available, or no later than 6PM on Sunday, November 6.
November 4, 2022 - Schools Closed to Students
As of this morning, an agreement between CUPE and the province has not been reached. CUPE members are withdrawing their services today on Friday, November 4, and will not be reporting to work. This means that all DSBN schools are officially closed to students today, including no virtual learning. Please keep following this web page and our DSBN social media channels for the most recent information and updates.
November 3, 2022 - Important Update for Tomorrow
Dear Families:
At the time we are sending this message, an agreement has not been reached between CUPE and the province, and CUPE will be withdrawing their services tomorrow on Friday, November 4, 2022.
This means that all DSBN schools will be closed to students tomorrow on Friday, November 4.
Please see below for what we will be open, closed or cancelled tomorrow for the DSBN:
- DSBN Schools: all elementary and secondary schools will be closed to students. There will be no virtual learning delivered on Friday
- Child Care: child care programs operating in our schools will be allowed to operate in our buildings should they choose to stay open. Please contact your child care provider directly for more information
- EarlyON Centres: EarlyON Centres will be closed
- Extracurriculars: after hours sports, practices, and other activities will be cancelled and re-scheduled
- Transportation: all transportation to and from school will not be running
- Community Rentals: all school permits are cancelled
- Adult Continuing Education: all in-person adult continuing education classes are cancelled
Should there be a change at any point tonight in the negotiations and schools are able to open tomorrow for Friday, November 4, we will communicate with you immediately. Please continue to monitor our negotiation updates web page, DSBN social media channels and local media outlets for updates. Information about tomorrow will be posted by 6 a.m.
November 1, 2022 - Update
CUPE (the Canadian Union of Public Employees) gave official notice over the weekend that they may take strike action this Friday, November 4, 2022. In response, the Ministry of Education announced they would be introducing legislation to prevent CUPE strike action from occurring. Negotiations are continuing this week between CUPE and the province, meaning that circumstances are evolving rapidly and are subject to change throughout the week.
If a provincial settlement is not reached, CUPE has announced they still plan to initiate a withdrawal of services on Friday, November 4, meaning that CUPE members are planning not to attend work on Friday. To help families prepare, we wanted to let you know that if CUPE members are not at work this Friday, the DSBN will have no option but to close all elementary and secondary schools to students on this day for safety reasons.
If schools are closed on Friday, child care programs operating in DSBN schools will be allowed to operate in our buildings should they choose to remain open. Please contact your child care provider directly for more information.
We remain committed to keeping you informed. We will continue to keep you up to date with new information as it becomes available, including what will be happening this Friday on November 4. Please continue following this web page and our social media channels for updates, on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
October 31, 2022 - Update
Earlier today, the Ministry of Education announced
they would be introducing legislation to prevent CUPE strike action from
occurring. Following an update at 2:30pm this afternoon from Stephen Lecce, the
Minister of Education, the province introduced the Keeping Students in Class
Act. This legislation has now been tabled and is currently up for debate in
the House of Commons.
As we wait for the outcome from the province, we will be keeping you up to date with new information as we receive it, including what will be happening on Friday, November 4.
October 31, 2022
In response to CUPE’s official notice that they may take strike action this Friday, November 4, the Ministry of Education has announced that they plan to introduce legislation today that will prevent CUPE strike action from occurring.
Negotiations are continuing between CUPE (the Canadian Union of Public Employees) and the Ministry of Education this week, and circumstances are subject to change. These negotiations are between the province and CUPE, therefore the DSBN does not have any involvement in the negotiations.
We are committed to keeping you informed. We will be communicating updates with you as soon as new information becomes available. Please follow this web page and our social media channels for timely updates, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.