ETFO Plans to Escalate Strike Action if a Deal is Not Reached with the Province

Monday, 24 February 2020 13:09

The ETFO announced today, plans for escalating strike action and would not rule out a full blown strike if a deal is not reached with the Province by March 6th.

ONTARIO - The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is preparing more strike action if a deal is not reached with the Province.

The ETFO is urging the Ford Government and its Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, to get back to the bargaining table. They are not ruling out a complete strike. ETFO President Sam Hammond says they are prepared to escalate strike action if a deal is not reached with the Province by Friday, March 6, 2020.

ETFO is asking the government to get back to the bargaining table and negotiate an agreement by Friday, March 6. The Ford government has an opportunity to ensure stability in elementary schools. If the government ignores this opportunity and chooses labour disruption instead, ETFO will move to its Phase 7 Strike Protocol on Monday, March 9, 2020.”

Hammond says the ETFO begins its Phase 6 Strike Protocol on Wednesday, February 26.

"That means our members will remain in schools and will follow their teaching, student supervision and preparation time schedules, as well as other scheduled duties. They will not fill in for absences that should be covered by occasional teachers and education workers, or upload data related to assessments. In addition, ETFO members will not be using their personal funds to pay for classroom and education-related expenses.

During this phase of strike action, ETFO wants to highlight a long-standing concern, which is that teachers and educators have been filling in education funding gaps themselves by paying for classroom basics – books, paper, art supplies, technology, furniture and so on – out of their own pockets. These are items that should be covered by the Ministry of Education and school boards, but aren't.”

The Province is currently negotiating with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, who called of their rotating strikes for this week because the Province agreed to meet them at the bargaining table. It is widely believed that once a deal is reached with one union, it will set the tone for negotiations with the others and would likely signal an end to the labour disruption.

Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, issued the following statement in response to escalated strike action by ETFO:

"The safety and security of our students are of the utmost importance to this government. I hope that ETFO will work with school boards to ensure that the escalated work-to-rule measures do not risk student safety and security.

That is why our government is squarely focused on getting a deal that ends the continuous escalation by teachers' union leaders, so our kids remain in class.

Our government wants to see investments in education helping our students, not increasing compensation and enhancing already generous benefits packages.

I remain fully committed to reaching a deal that keeps students in class, provides certainty to parents, and fairness to educators."