Barring a last-minute tentative agreement, English Catholic students in Windsor will have Tuesday off.
Due to a province-wide one-day strike by members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA), the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board will close all elementary and secondary schools on Tuesday. EarlyON Centres and child care facilities housed in WECDSB buildings will also be closed.
The one-day walkout is the latest escalation of job action by not only OECTA but also other Ontario unions that represent teachers, teachers' aides, educational assistants, administrative and support staff, IT personnel and others. The escalation is an expression of disappointment over a perceived lack of progress in contract talks with the province.
Teachers will trade in their planners for picket signs Tuesday. Pickets will be set up at several points in Windsor and Leamington.
"We appreciate that this job action may cause an inconvenience for students and their families," said WECDSB Director of Education Terry Lyons in a statement last week. "We would ask that our students and their families remain patient as the collective bargaining process unfolds."
In response to the job action, the communities of Windsor, LaSalle and Lakeshore scheduled day camps for Tuesday. A check of the websites of all three municipalities Monday night showed that spaces were still available in Windsor and Lakeshore.
Keep following BlackburnNewsWindsor.com for any updates on this story.