The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) is putting a pause on strikes.
No rotating strikes will occur between March 9 and 27, the union announced on March 6.
“Our intent has always been to minimize the impact our labour actions have on students,” said OSSTF president Harvey Bischof in a press release.
“With so many student events planned around and during March Break, we feel that a pause in our strike actions is appropriate at this time.”
In addition to the withdrawal of services announced on Nov. 26 and Jan. 20, as of March 9, there is a lengthy list of rules to which OSSTF members need to adhere.
Some of those sanctions mean members will:
– provide nothing but a mark and learning skills for formal and interim report cards;
– not update or post to school/board-related websites, excluding individual teacher/class curriculum websites;
– not provide equipment maintenance;
– not accept new teacher-in-charge or acting VP positions or provide coverage for absent administrators/managers.
– not engage in work-related emails or phone calls outside of the regular work day; and
– not supervise students sent to the office for discipline.
“The expanded sanctions will have a minimal impact on the learning environment, while continuing to draw attention to the government’s cuts to education and the lack of progress in bargaining,” officials said.
Minister of Education Stephen Lecce said it’s time for a deal.
“I have offered all teachers’ union federations a fair and reasonable plan, which should pave the way to reaching a good deal that keeps students in class,” he stated in a March 5 press release.
“The government has consistently made reasonable moves – effectively freezing classroom sizes, a parental opt out for online learning, a commitment to full-day kindergarten, and 100 per cent investment in special education.”
However, Bischof doesn’t agree.
“The Minister’s latest vague proposal to fund class size averages at 23:1 will still result in significant challenges for students,” Bischof said. “We already see overcrowded classrooms and disappearing courses – often courses students need in order to graduate.
“This proposal does nothing to address those serious problems, all of which have come about thanks to the Ford government’s short-sighted policies.”
Bischof said the proposed partial restoration of the Local Priorities Fund won’t be enough to bring back the education workers who lost their jobs because of government cuts.
“These workers provided vital support services to high-needs students, supports that many students are missing this year,” Bischof said.
“We urge the minister of education to abandon his habitual tactic of bargaining via press conference and direct his negotiating team to return to the table. Parents, students and educators want the minister to engage in real, good-faith negotiations. Bargaining proposals need to be brought to the bargaining table, where they can be meaningfully discussed, not proclaimed from a podium.”
