Toronto: The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) has announced that it is planning a second one-day, province-wide walkout on Tuesday, February 4.
Teachers in publicly funded Catholic district school boards across Ontario will not be reporting to work or performing any of their teachingduties.
“We know Ontarians are growing impatient with these negotiations. Frankly, we share their frustration,” says OECTA President Liz Stuart. “But we cannot allow this government to wear us all down and force us to accept their devastating cuts. The long-term consequences for our schools and our students are simply unacceptable. Strike action is tough for everyone, but it is a sacrifice we need to make to show the government we will not be deterred in our efforts to protect what we have worked so hard to build.”
OECTA members began administrative job action on January 13; this action will remain in effect until and after February 4. Catholic teachers also engaged in a full withdrawal of services on January 21.
The Association has not had a bargaining date since January 9 and no additional dates are booked.
“Minister Lecce keeps talking about private mediation, but this is further evidence of how out-of-touch he is with the bargaining process,” says Stuart. “We already have a highly respected Ministry of Labour-appointed conciliator helping with our discussions. She has said we currently remain too far apart on the key issues to make negotiations worthwhile.”
Lecce Responds
Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, said: “Teacher union leaders have yet again demonstrated their disregard for parents in this province by directing their members to not show up to work. Union leaders are prepared to stand up for things like higher benefits for their members but appear unable to stand up for the basic expectation that students should learn each and every day.
“We are committed to meaningful good-faith negotiations with our labour partners so we can ensure students are in class.”
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