Education employees in Ontario will enter a legal strike starting next week, and the union president representing them says the members are prepared to engage in a "full withdrawal of services" if they remain without an agreement after the deadline. Also, Laura Walton, president of the Ontario CUPE Labour Council, said on Friday: "If we are in a full strike situation on November 3, there will be no caretakers even to change the garbage, educational assistants will not be in schools, early childhood educators, secretaries, IT workers, and anyone affiliated with CUPE will leave their job." She added to CP24: "The goal is to get a deal with the government." CUPE began participating in talks with a neutral mediator last week but stopped after only two days. Talks are now scheduled to resume on Tuesday, leaving only two days of negotiations before the union enters a strike. Additionally, Walton said: "No one wants to be on strike." But at the same time, she said: "We can no longer continue the way we work in our schools." It is also worth noting that the union, which represents about 55,000 workers, is demanding an annual wage increase of $3.25 per hour (11.7%), five additional paid days before the start of the school year, and 30 minutes of daily preparation time for all its members.