Elementary teachers’ union announces job action set for next Wednesday

TORONTO — Ontario’s schools appear poised to experience a series of labour disruptions next week, as the province’s largest teachers’ union announced Friday it’s taking further job action and no new talks are scheduled with Premier Doug Ford’s government.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario says it will expand its planned rotating strikes to a third day next week, with teachers walking off the job at the Thames Valley, Rainbow and Rainy River school boards on Wednesday. ETFO, which represents 83,000 teachers and educational workers, will start the strikes on Monday, shuttering schools in Toronto, York Region and Ottawa-Carleton. On Tuesday, elementary teachers in Grand Erie, Trillium Lakelands, Renfrew, and Superior-Greenstone school boards will walk off the job.

Union president Sam Hammond said Friday that the teachers made new proposals in late December, and he blamed the Progressive Conservative government for stalling talks.

“The government has given no response and made no commitment to return to bargaining talks in 28 days,” he said in a statement. “We are urging the minister to get back to the table and discuss the critical issues that parents and educators care about.”

All four major teachers’ unions are now engaged in legal job actions as contract negotiations with the provincial government appear to have stalled.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce has said the government is willing to return to talks with the unions, provided they show a willingness to compromise.

On Friday, Lecce said parents are frustrated by teacher union job actions. Earlier in the week, the province announced a compensation program for parents affected by the one-day strikes, and by early Friday, nearly 78,000 had signed up for the funding.

“The immense uptake of our Support for Parents Initiative speaks volumes to the level of uncertainty union-led strike action causes,” the minister said in a statement. “It is unacceptable that ETFO would ramp up strike action and make families across the province scramble for child care.”

In addition to the job action planned by ETFO, Ontario’s English Catholic teachers and the province’s public high school teachers also plan to hold one-day strikes on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the union representing teachers in Ontario’s French system launched a work-to-rule campaign Thursday.

Several teachers’ unions were also scheduled to appear at the government’s pre-budget consultations at the Ontario legislature on Friday.