WELLINGTON COUNTY – Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) elementary schools will close for two days next week if a deal is not reached between the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the province.
On Feb. 10 UGDSB elementary schools will be closed as part of a one-day rotating strike that also impacts 10 other boards, the union announced on Feb. 4.
The next day, Feb. 11, the schools will close again as part of a province-wide one-day ETFO strike.
UGDSB officials stress secondary schools are not impacted by these strikes and classes will run as normal.
The ETFO announced on Jan. 27 it was escalating job action to include two strike days per week – one province wide and one rotating.
ETFO officials say they want the government to return to the bargaining table after talks broke down again last week.
“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 and fair hiring practices,” stated union president Sam Hammond in a press release.
“Educators 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.”
The union says that on Jan. 31 a deal was “within reach” after three days of central bargaining talks, however the government “abruptly changed its position in the eleventh hour.”
Education minister Stephen Lecce explained that the government had affirmed, in writing, that it would maintain the kindergarten program.
“I have long said that compensation, pay and benefits remain a top priority for teachers’ union leaders, and that remains true today,” Lecce stated in a Jan. 31 press release.
“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.”
Yet, ETFO officials maintain salary was not a topic in the discussions.
The mediator has called off discussions, but Lecce said the government is ready to meet to talk about a deal that “keeps students in class.”
Next week’s ETFO strikes were announced by the union on Feb. 4, the first of two strike days affecting the UGDSB this week (the other was a province-wide strike planned for Feb. 6).
