Midnight deadline looms for 1-day strike in Ontario public high schools
The union that represents public high school teachers in Ontario is warning students and parents to get ready for a one-day strike on Wednesday unless it reaches a tentative agreement with the province before midnight ET.
«In the absence of any other announcement and any update, prepare for a strike tomorrow,» Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), told reporters Tuesday night. «We will be back in class on Thursday.»
Bischof, flanked by members of the OSSTF provincial executive, said the government has not presented any new proposals in the past four days of bargaining at a downtown Toronto hotel. He said «the odds are sadly slim» that both sides are likely to reach any kind of agreement by the midnight deadline.
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the strike would be «needless escalation.»
«Our government has remained reasonable at the negotiating table, with the objective of keeping students in class,» Lecce told reporters at a news conference earlier on Tuesday.
The union, which represents 60,000 members, says it is fighting to reverse cuts to the province’s classrooms — which it says are harming students’ ability to get a good education.
But the minister says since the Ontario government first began bargaining, the union has not made any «substantive moves» to reach a deal. He said the union is insisting on a $1.5 billion increase in pay and benefits.
«The onus is on OSSTF to be reasonable, stay at the table and to cancel this needless escalation that is hurting children, parents and families,» Lecce said.
The teachers are already conducting a work-to-rule campaign and say they are pushing back against government plans to increase class sizes and introduce mandatory e-learning courses.
Bischof says a one-day strike is «nothing» compared to the possible damage that can could be done to the education system through these new government proposals.
Contract talks appeared to be at a standstill on Tuesday. A one-day strike could close many schools across the province.
Earlier, Lecce had said his bargaining team had presented a new «framework» to negotiators for the OSSTF in an attempt to keep all parties at the table. But the union disputed that.
Both sides are bargaining at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in downtown Toronto.
Public high school teachers without a contract since August
Ontario’s public high school teachers have been without a contract since August.
Some of the province’s largest school boards — including the Toronto District School Board and Peel District School Board, west of Toronto — have said they will be forced to close their high schools if the job action takes place.
Boards where the OSSTF also represents education workers — such as the Waterloo Region District School Board and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board — will close both high schools and elementary schools if a strike occurs.
Bischof said he is sympathetic to parents who will be inconvenienced by the possible closure of some schools, but the union is fighting government cuts that will impact the quality of education in the province.
Lecce said the main issue in the talks is compensation, with the government recently passing legislation to cap annual wage increases for all public sector workers at one per cent for three years. The union is asking for inflationary increases, which would amount to about two per cent.
