Teachers at Ontario's Catholic schools are a step closer to the picket lines after getting a "no-board" report on Thursday.
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association will be in a legal strike position as of December 21. While the union said no determination has been made yet as to whether teachers will walk off the job, it did point out that members recently gave their bargaining committee a strike mandate by a vote of 97.1 per cent.
“As has become abundantly clear this week, Ontarians recognize the Ford government is not listening to their concerns, or treating publicly funded education with the respect it deserves,” OECTA President Liz Stuart said in a statement released Thursday morning. “This ‘no-board’ should serve as another wakeup call for Premier Ford and Minister Lecce that it is time to get their act together. Our Association has two days of bargaining scheduled this week, and two more next week. We sincerely hope the government’s negotiating team will come to the table with a mandate to abandon the cuts and reach an agreement.”
The no-board report comes a day after high school teachers with public school boards across the province staged a one-day strike to press the government for a new contract. The public high school teachers were back in class on Thursday.
The head of OECTA claims it has become obvious that the Ford government isn't interested in good faith bargaining.
“As was reaffirmed this week by the OECD, Ontario’s publicly funded education system ranks among the best in the world. Catholic teachers have been working hard to negotiate an agreement that will keep it that way,” Stuart said. “Unfortunately, while they claim to be bargaining in good faith and making reasonable offers, the reality is the Ford government continues to focus more on public posturing than reaching an agreement. Catholic teachers have already filed a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board about the government’s behaviour. We are prepared to do what it takes to ensure Premier Ford and Minister Lecce respect the bargaining process, listen to Ontarians, and get serious about supporting publicly funded education.”