With no end to the labour dispute in sight, public elementary teachers across Ontario returned to the picket lines Tuesday.
In Sarnia, elementary teachers gathered outside the Lambton Kent District School Board Education Centre on Wellington Street for the second day in a row to participate in the second province-wide walkout in less than a week.
Multi -Disciplinary Student Support Teacher Erin Gower. February 11, 2020
Multi -Disciplinary Student Support Teacher Erin Gower said there's strength in numbers
"I think when we are walking out provincially, when we have all 83,000 members across the province walking-out, that we are standing in solidarity," said Gower. "It sends a strong message to the province that we are standing in this together, that we unitedly feel that we are ensuring the best that we can for our students."
All four major teachers' unions are engaging in strikes as bargaining appears to be at an impasse.
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) is also stepping up its administrative job action.
As of Tuesday, the union said its 45,000 members will only undertake their scheduled teaching and supervision duties. Teachers will not accept any additional tasks or assignments.
On Thursday, February 13 Ontario’s French school teachers, members with the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) are planning a province-wide strike.
All four local French schools are included.