Elementary teachers to resume strike action today after contract talks fail

TORONTO — It’s shaping up to be another week of scrambling for thousands of parents of kids whose teachers are planning strike action.

Contract talks between the province and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario collapsed Friday with ETFO saying its teachers would walk out at each board twice a week, starting today.

The school boards to be hit by elementary strikes today include: Bluewater, Grand Erie, Halton, Ontario North East, Renfrew County, Superior-Greenstone and Trillium Lakelands — and a provincewide strike by ETFO is set for Thursday.

All four major teachers’ unions have been without contracts since Aug. 31, and are all engaged in some form of job action. High school teachers announced last week they would resume their weekly rotating strikes on Tuesday, after not holding any during last week’s exam period.

Unions representing English Catholic teachers and teachers in the French system have bargaining scheduled this week.

Unions are asking for wage increases of around two per cent to keep up with inflation, but the government passed legislation last year capping wage hikes for all public sector workers to one per cent for three years. The teachers’ unions and several others are fighting it in court, arguing it infringes on collective bargaining rights.

The Canadian Press