Dozens of schools across northeastern Ontario quiet as CUPE workers hit the streets

About 20,000 students across northeastern Ontario are staying home Friday as 2,000 education workers hit the picket line, despite a ban on striking that's been imposed by the provincial government.

They are among the 55,000 custodians, secretaries, educational assistantsand other support staff represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) who've walked out across the province,despite a law passed by the Ford government on Thursday. The lawbans them from striking and imposesa new four-year contract on the union.

Hundreds of educational assistants represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) are also off the job Fridayin a sympathy strike, whichforced the Rainbow District School Board in the Sudbury area, the largest in the north, to cancel classes for the day.

Also closed Friday areschools run by the Huron-Superior Catholic board inSault Ste. Marie and Algoma, the Northeastern Catholic board in Timmins and surrounding areas, as well as the Conseil Scolaire Public du Nord-Est de l'Ontario.

For the Near North District School Board in the North Bay-Nipissing area, the number of CUPE-represented workers varies from school to school.

Only eight schools in thatEnglish public board closed Friday: West Ferris, Chippewa, F.J. McElligott,Northern Secondary, Humphrey, Evergreen Heights, Alliance and Whitestone Lake.

Some of the school boards in the northeast that are holding classes say they will switch to online learning if the strike stretches into next week.