Rotating teacher strikes continue this week as various groups negotiate with the provincial government.
For the Elementary Teachers' Federation, class sizes and a commitment to the current Kindergarten model are just a couple of the issues that were being discussed at talks over a three day period at the beginning of the month. The government stated that compensation was a discussion point but that was refuted by members of the bargaining team after talks broke down.
In a release by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, President Harvey Bischof repeated the federation’s standing offer to postpone pending job actions if the government agrees to return to, and maintain, the class size ratios and staffing levels that were in place in Ontario schools during the 2018-2019 school year.
Action by both groups will affect local schools this week.
For the Avon-Maitland District School Board: Schools are closed to elementary students (K to 8) on Monday, February 10 and Tuesday, February 11 All schools are closed to all students on Thursday, February 13
For the Bluewater District School Board Schools are closed to elementary students (K to 8) on Tuesday, February 11 Schools are closed to elementary students (K to 8) on Thursday, February 13
For the Upper Grand District School Board Schools are closed to elementary students (K to 8) on Monday, February 10 and Tuesday, February 11
As for Catholic schools within the local area, there is no strike action listed by OECTA at this time, however, the association has announced enhanced sanctions starting on Tuesday, February 11.
Those will include but not restricted to: • Withdrawal of on-call to cover teacher absence • Refusal to rearrange schedules to cover absent teachers • Refusal to accept delegation of authority to cover for absent Principals/Vice-Principals • Refusal to accept students dispersed from a classroom where a teacher is absent