School strike looms in Renfrew County

High schools and kindergarten classes at the Renfrew County District School Board will close Wednesday if education workers stage a day-long strike.

Members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) plan to walk out at nine school boards across the province and selected schools at six French-language boards.

OSSTF represents high school teachers, early childhood educators and secondary school office managers at Renfrew County public schools.

The closure of Renfrew County’s secondary schools on Jan. 8 also means the cancellation of night school, co-op placements, dual credit programs and extracurricular activities.

Kindergartens in the board will be closed except for classes at Whitney Public School, which will be held as usual if there is a strike, the board said in a statement.

It’s the fourth day-long strike by OSSTF to pressure the government in contract talks.

OSSTF offered to delay the strike if the government agreed to return staffing levels to what they were in 2018-19.

That would mean a reversal of the government’s plan to increase class sizes and a restoration of some teacher and support worker jobs.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce responded to the notice of Wednesday’s strike by criticizing OSSTF for “escalating” the situation.

“This continued strike action is unfair to students and their families,” he said.

Lecce says the main issue in the dispute is wages. The government has offered a one-per-cent annual increase, while the union has requested cost-of-living or about two per cent.

OSSTF president Harvey Bischof said the key issues in the dispute are larger classes, mandatory online learning for high school students, erosion of supports for high-needs students and classroom violence.

Wednesday’s strike does not affect schools in Ottawa.