TORONTO – A union representing workers on university campuses in Ontario called Thursday for the government to put classroom capacity limits and distancing requirements in place to better protect students and staff from COVID-19.
Ontario announced earlier this month that it wouldn’t require distancing or class caps when post-secondary institutions resume in-person learning.
CUPE Ontario represents workers – including those in administrative, food service, research, and teaching assistant positions – on 17 university campuses and says the government is not doing enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 there.
“While Ontario’s post-secondary institutions have mandatory proof-of-vaccination and masking policies, we know that these measures alone are not enough to stop the spread of COVID,” said president Fred Hahn.
“We know this because public health authorities have asked us all to do everything possible, including reducing close contacts, maintaining physical distancing, to reduce the spread.”
He said he’s hearing from members that classrooms are packed with sometimes hundreds of people.
“That’s simply a recipe for disaster,” he said.
