ETFO strike sends teachers to the picket line – Upper Canada District School Board elementary teachers were on the picket line January 29th as part of a one-day, province-wide strike action by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. The union announced continued strike action this week with UCDSB elementary schools being hit with back-to-back strikes. On February 5th students are out of school as the board faces another day of rotating strikes. Strike action on February 6th is part of a province-wide one-day walk out. Pictured above, ETFO members walk the picket line outside of Winchester Public School. (The Leader/Blancher photo)nnSOUTH DUNDAS – Back-to-back strike action by Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario members has students home from school February 5-6 and more strikes have been announced for February 10-11th.nnUpper Canada District School Board was notified on January 31st that it would be struck in the latest round of rotating one-day walkouts this week. The union later announced that a province-wide strike would take place on February 6th.nnA further round of strike action was announced after The Leader’s publication deadline. UCDSB elementary school students will be home Monday February 10th as the board and 10 other school boards are targeted for the next rotating strike day. Another province-wide EFTO strike will take place the following day, Tuesday February 11th.nnThe announced labour escalation last week prompted the Ministry of Labour mediator to call provincial and union negotiators back to the bargaining table February 5th. Talks lasted three days, but reached an impasse and were called off until further notice.nn“ETFO made every effort over the past three days to move negotiations forward but it became increasingly clear that the Ford government was not willing to address key issues in any meaningful way,” said ETFO president Sam Hammond in a release.nn“For example, the government wants to reduce funding to support the learning needs of special education students, and it wants ETFO to agree to those cuts at the bargaining table. We can’t do that.”nnEducation minister Stephen Leece responded that the government agreed to maintain the current all-day kindergarten program, which had been on the negotiating table.nn“I have long said that compensation, pay, and benefits, remain a top priority for teachers’ union leaders, and that remains true today. Even following our formal commitment to one of their publicly-stated priorities, ETFO leadership continues to advance compensation for their members over the protection of the education system for our youngest learners,” Leece said.nnStormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MPP Jim McDonell reiterated Leece’s comments on front line classroom supports.nn“We have demonstrated consistently that we are being reasonable and student-centric by making major moves that have not been matched or reciprocated by the teachers’ unions at the bargaining table,” he said.nn“Students should be in class. I am calling on the education unions to stop this escalation which creates disruption for parents and students – they deserve better.”nnThe ETFO two-day strike action follows a one-day strike on February 4th by Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association members.nnAll elementary and secondary Catholic schools province-wide were closed for a second one-day strike February 3rd.nnContract negotiations between OECTA and the province broke down the evening of February 3rd, after three days of talks over the weekend.nnNo local strike action has been scheduled for Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation teachers in the UCDSB. The union announced in January it would not schedule any further labour disruption until after exams were over.
