Ahead of Thursday's province-wide walkout by more than 83,000 public elementary school teachers in Ontario, more strikes have been announced for next week.
Public elementary schools in Grey Bruce will be impacted twice during the week of Feb. 10-14 by Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario walkouts.
If no new collective agreement has been reached with the Ford government, ETFO members will withdraw services province-wide on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Then on Thursday, Feb .13, the Bluewater District School Board will be one of 14 school boards across the province targeted in a rotating strike.
The teachers' union is increasing its pressure on the Ford government, after three days of talks ended last week without a new agreement.
In a statement, ETFO president Sam Hammond claims a deal with the government was close on Jan. 31 before “the government's negotiators changed course and tabled impossible options they knew ETFO could not accept.”
“Unlike the Minister of Education, I was at the bargaining table last week so I know what was discussed,” Hammond says. “Despite what Minister (Stephen) Lecce is claiming, salary was not addressed during those negotiations, and government negotiators did not sign a letter of commitment to maintain the Kindergarten model.”
Lecce issued a statement following the conclusion of talks with the public elementary teachers' union last week and claimed “ETFO leadership continues to advance compensation for their members over the protection of the education system for our youngest learners”.
All of Ontario's major teachers unions are engaged in job actions amid contract negotiations with the province. Bluewater Board elementary schools were closed Monday due to a one-day rotating strike. Tomorrow, ETFO will hold a province-wide walkout. While on Tuesday, schools in the Bruce-Grey Catholic Board were closed as the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association withdrew services throughout Ontario.