TEACHER STRIKE LOOMS
Provincewide talks have stopped, union says late Friday night
Union, school board in Durham must come to a deal by Monday to avoid staff walkout
Talks will continue all weekend between the Durham District School Board and the high school teachers union, with a Monday strike looming if no deal is reached.
“We are hopeful that a settlement may be possible, however we are determined to address our members’ priorities during local bargaining in this round after almost a decade without that ability,” said Dave Barrowclough, president of District 13 of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF).
“We require the employer to be willing to address those priorities in order to achieve a settlement.”
However, a bargaining impasse in provincial talks will make it difficult to avoid the strike in Durham and six other Ontario boards.
In a notice to members sent out Friday night, OSSTF president Paul Elliott said all talks with the province and the school boards’ association have ended, “push (ing) us closer to additional strike action at boards across the province.”
OSSTF is now “urging the management team to rethink its bargaining position that would lead to significant reductions of face-to-face time between teachers and their students,” said the notice, which added that “we’ve seen no indication the government has any bargaining intent other than to demonstrate to other public sector unions that they’ve been tough with teachers.”
Board chair Michael Barrett, who is also president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA), said earlier Friday “we are committed . . . and we remain optimistic” a local deal can be reached in time.
“We have talks scheduled all weekend, which will go as late as they need to,” Barrett added. “Both groups are commit- ted to putting forth their best effort.”
Barrett said parents should check the board’s website and Twitter feed, which will be updated all weekend.
“We are warning parents that discussions are ongoing over the weekend and they need to remain diligent . . . teachers are going to have to know as well” so both the union and board have agreed “that we have to provide notice to both parties as to what’s going on.”
However, no deadline for giving that notice has been set.
Provincially, the OSSTF has walked away from bargaining talks, saying it will return when the school boards’ association and the province “are ready to enter serious discussions” and remove clawbacks from the table.
The government, however, has said there’s no extra money and if teachers want raises, they will have to find ways to offset the cost.
The provincial talks handle costly items such as salaries and sick leaves, while local talks look at individual board and union district issues. Barrett said he believes the potential for local strikes is a way for the union to put pressure on the provincial talks.
During a stop in Barrie on Friday, Premier Kathleen Wynne said she hopes there won’t be a strike in Durham high schools Monday.
“There are still a number of days before Monday but I also have faith that the board will be in touch with families to let them know what is happening.
“Again, I just encourage everyone to get back to the table and to find an agreement.”
The premier said her government has been “very clear” that the public purse is tapped out.