SCHOOL STRIKES!
Ontario’s major education unions are all involved in rotating strikes and other actions. They protest delays in new contract negotiations and also government policy plans, which the unions say threaten Ontario’s education system.
Last January 15, teachers, special education assistance staff, and other support workers set up picket lines in front of several schools in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, and also in front of the Cornwall office of SDG Progressive Conservative MPP Jim McDonell. It was the latest in a series of rotating picket line protests throughout the province, organized by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF/FEESO), which represents secondary school teachers and special education staff in the French public and catholic school districts and in English public school districts.
As of January 20, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (EFTO) and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) launched their job actions. One of the goals for all the unions is to press the provincial government to respond to proposals at the bargaining table.
The unions also want to increase public awareness of provincial government plans to reduce teaching and professional support staff, increase the number of students in classes, and other policy proposals which would result in less one-on-one time for teachers with students who need the extra attention, and no special support services available for students with learning difficulties.
School districts urge parents of students to do regular checks of their websites for updated information on whether there will be any school closures as a result of the rotating strikes. The provincial government has offered subsidies for parents who may need daycare or other child-minding service for Kindergarten and primary-grade students who end up staying home because of school closures during the job action. The government has received criticism for its subsidy offer from unions and some parents who say the money should go towards supporting provincial education programs.