The first of three scheduled one-day strikes by educators in Windsor-Essex takes place Tuesday.
Despite the resumption of bargaining talks with the province, members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) will hit the picket lines across Windsor-Essex. With that, classes at the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board (WECDSB) will be cancelled Tuesday.
OECTA members first walked off the job for one day on January 21 as part of a province-wide effort to convince the provincial government to resume contract talks. However, as BlackburnNews.com was first to report on Friday, OECTA has agreed to accept the mediator's request and return to the bargaining table.
"It remains to be seen how serious the discussions will be," said OECTA President Liz Stuart on Friday. "We would like nothing more than to focus on reaching an agreement, but the government needs to understand that their proposed cuts simply cannot stay on the table. At this point, the strike action planned for February 4 will go ahead."
Classes at the WECDSB will resume on Wednesday.
Students at Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence, the French Catholic board, will have classes Tuesday as scheduled. However, the provincial union representing French Catholic teachers and education workers are engaged in work-to-rule.
Meanwhile, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) will strike locally on Thursday and Friday of this week. The Thursday walkout is part of a province-wide strike. The work stoppage on Friday is part of a rotating strike effort that will affect the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) and several other boards across Ontario.
Five Ontario EarlyON Centres in Windsor-Essex will be closed Tuesday due to the OECTA job action. The city of Windsor has provided contingency plans for each of the three days in question for parents needing childcare.
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