Chelsey St. Pierre – The Suburban LJI Reporter
Many parents are growing impatient with school staff and school transport services striking intermittently and simultaneously. In multiple interviews with parents who contacted The Suburban to express their views on the strikes, the majority expressed their sympathy and appreciation for school staff and bus drivers, however the overall message is that their patience is wearing thin with the strike tactics.
Most agreed to be identified on a first name basis or by their profession only as they do not want their children to be identifiable to school staff via this report on their position. “By choosing this repeat tactic, instead of inciting our support, it is having the opposite effect,” working dad Emmanuel told The Suburban. “They are holding parents hostage in this negotiation gambling their own wages while many parents are suffering financial losses that will certainly not be replaced by wage increases.”
“The government is laughing at them, they are taking days off unpaid then threatening to take off more days… not paid. So financially, it is in the government’s interest to let them keep going and use the money saved from that time period to ‘increase their wages’. They are foolish standing out there in the cold, not getting paid. It will all come out to the same. My frustration is not for lack of sympathy to their cause, it is for the lack of common sense in their tactics. It is as if your boss at work causes a problem for you and you go home and slap your neighbour, it just does not make any sense.”
“They use the word ‘essential’ to describe themselves, so obviously they are aware of that fact,” Maria told The Suburban. One parent, who owns a law firm said the decision to strike affects the entire ecosystem in unrelated professions. “Some of my employees cannot work during the strike days. I have had to scramble for temporary replacements which also affects the overall quality of service. These are more than half a million people striking, everyone knows someone whose life gets turned upside down every time they walk out.”
“One day I am late for work because the bus drivers want more money. The next day, I am absent from work because the teachers want more money, the janitor wants more money. It is hard to feel sorry for them when they don’t feel sorry for us. After a three-day strike, they are aware that parents have been severely affected and they expect sympathy when threatening to do it again and indefinitely?” Emma said to The Suburban.
“Essential service workers should not be allowed to just walk out without consequences, the consequences on the population is far too damaging for this to be okay.” Stay at home mom Debbie says that though she is capable of absorbing the consequences of the strike, she worries that her children won’t fare well in their exams coming up shortly before the holidays.
“Inflation hit all of us and now we all have to join them in taking days off unpaid against our will and with Christmas right around the corner. Maybe when our kids ask why there are no gifts under the tree, we can say that Santa’s priority this year is that their teachers get paid better. These are the adults we trust our children with every day. How can they do something so irresponsible and expect to keep our trust, our respect?” Michel told The Suburban. n