Public elementary teachers will escalate job action next week after starting a second week of rotating one-day strikes Monday.
If the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario doesn't have a contract by Friday, it will start staging a province-wide strike once a week, with the first one set for next Thursday, February 6.
The union said each school board where it has members will also be hit by another day of rotating strikes during the week, leaving children without classes for two days. That includes the Bluewater District School Board on Monday, February 3, and the Avon Maitland District School Board next Tuesday, February 4.
The Upper Grand Board will also be affected by a rotating strike Tuesday and February 4.
“There is nothing to be gained by Minister Lecce avoiding meaningful and fair contract talks other than further damaging the reputation of the Ford government,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond. “Educators and parents are not going to accept the government’s deep cuts to public education that only serve to harm the quality of education for generations to come.”
“From ETFO’s perspective, fair contract talks must include appropriate funding for Special Education; a strategy to address classroom violence; maintaining our internationally recognized Kindergarten program; fair hiring practices; class sizes that meet the needs of elementary students; and compensation that keeps up with inflation.”
“I challenge the minister to send his negotiators back to the table to address these issues because, in four months of talks from August through December 2019, his negotiators had no mandate to discuss them.”
“It’s time that the Ford government recognized that our public education system is key to the future of this province’s economy. We must have the tools and supports to prepare students to realize their individual aspirations and productively contribute to the economic and social fabric of this province,” added Hammond.
In the meantime, the Bluewater District School Board has sent a letter to parents and guardians to inform them that it will not be possible for term one elementary report cards to be completed.
There will also be no term one report cards in the Avon Maitland District School Board.
