Prime Minister Doug Ford said he is ready to repeal the legislation that made the strike by education workers in Ontario illegal if their union is willing to stop their collective strike.

"As a goodwill gesture, our government is ready to repeal the legislation, ready to repeal section 33, but only if CUPE agrees to show a similar goodwill gesture by stopping their strike and allowing our children to return to their classrooms," Ford said Monday morning.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce also joined Ford at Queen's Park. And after two hours, CUPE's head, along with a number of national and regional labor leaders, is expected to announce an escalation in the fight against Bill 28.

This comes as thousands of education workers in the province strike for the fourth day, and a new poll shows that six out of ten Ontario residents blame Ford's government for the ongoing work disruption. Also, introduced in the legislature last Monday by Lecce and passed late Thursday afternoon, the "Keeping Students in Class Act" makes it illegal for CUPE education workers to strike. It also imposed a four-year contract on them. This legislation was passed late Thursday afternoon.

Also, a source told CTV News Toronto that "nothing is off the table" at this stage and that CUPE is exploring actions that other members, outside the local education sector, could take, including a larger political protest.