Child welfare workers in Toronto have given their union a strong mandate to strike, saying workload and burnout are making their day-to-day jobs increasingly difficult.
Staff at the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, represented by CUPE Local 2316, held a strike vote earlier in January as negotiations over a new contract continued.
The union told Global News 82 per cent of its members took part in the vote, with 83 per cent agreeing to put strike action on the table.
CUPE Local 2316, which represents some 500 workers in Toronto, previously said it has been in negotiations with the child welfare agency for months, as staff complain about growing burnout.
“Depending on whether the employer comes to the bargaining table prepared to address service delivery concerns, workload issues and worker burnout, will dictate next steps on when CUPE Local 2316 will set a strike date,” Aubrey Gonsalves, union president, told Global News.
He had previously cited a disconnect between managers and the everyday reality of work for his members, accusing the agency of failing to tell provincial leaders about the situation.
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“They’ll tell us to our face it’s an underfunding issue, but they won’t say that to the government, nor will they put that in public,” he said ahead of the strike vote.
Before the vote, the Toronto Children’s Aid Society said the agency respected the union’s right to vote in favour of strike action, but hoped it could be avoided.
They acknowledged the work being undertaken by staff and the pressure front-line child welfare workers can be under.
“We believe that meaningful, system‑level policy updates and changes can play an important role in addressing many of the current concerns facing the sector,” a spokesperson said.
The potential stand-off, however, comes as the Ontario government suggests the child welfare sector is struggling with waste.
Back in October 2024, the government announced a series of audits of children’s aid societies, suggesting they continued to post deficits and employ large numbers of staff, even as cases fell.
Internal government documents, however, suggest the problem is more complicated. They show civil servants worry audits won’t reconcile the issue of high-needs kids entering the child welfare system with more complicated files that result in higher stress and costs.
Bargaining dates between CUPE and the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto were set for Wednesday and Thursday.
No strike deadline has been made public.
— with files from Global News’ Nicole Di Donato
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