Grade school teachers ramp up action
One-day walkouts will continue until deal is reached with government
Ontario’s public elementary teachers’ union will hold a third, daylong walkout next week — and say they will continue until a deal with the province is reached or until a fullout strike is called.
Members of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) will be off the job in a handful of boards on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and, without a collective agreement, more will be scheduled, the union said in a memo to all 83,000 members Friday morning.
“Unfortunately, the phone has not yet rung and there are still no additional dates for contract talks,” the memo said.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce said, “It is unacceptable that ETFO would ramp up strike action and make families across the province scramble for child care.”
The province is providing parents with up to $60 a day per child to help cover the cost of daycare, with more than 33,000 families registered so far.
“I will continue to focus on reaching voluntary agreements with the teachers’ unions, so Ontario students stay in class where they belong,” Lecce also said.
At the moment, only the AEFO — which bargains for teachers in French-language boards — has any upcoming talks planned with the government and school boards.
The elementary teachers will target Rainy River (Fort Frances area), Thames Valley (London area) and Rainbow (Sudbury area) on Wednesday. On Monday, members — who include teachers, early childhood educators and school staff — will be off the job in Ottawa-Carleton, York Region and Toronto public boards, as well as Toronto Catholic.
On Tuesday, the walkout will hit Superior Greenstone (Thunder Bay area), Renfrew, Grand Erie and Trillium Lakelands (Haliburton/Kawartha).
The elementary teachers’ union says the “critical issues” it wants the province to address include smaller classes, better supports for special needs students, a commitment to fullday kindergarten, as well as compensation.
The province is offering a one per cent annual raise — in line with recent legislation capping public-sector wage increases — but teacher unions are seeking cost of living, or about two per cent a year.
Also on Tuesday, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ is staging a province-wide strike, and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation is holding strikes in 13 boards.
The province’s French teachers, represented by AEFO, have just begun a largely administrative work-to-rule.
The escalating tensions between the province and teachers now means all four unions are engaging in job action for the first time in more than 20 years, from work-to-rule to daylong strikes.
Meanwhile, internal polling done for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation indicates public support remains strong, with about 60 per cent of the 500 surveyed believing the government is on the “wrong track” when it comes to education. Six in 10 said their sympathies lie with the teachers.