Catholic teachers talk today… but plan strike

Toronto: The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) has announced that if an
agreement is not reached at today’s talks with the government, members will participate in rotating full withdrawals of service the week of February 24.

Strike in Durham Catholic District School Board is scheduled for Tuesday, February 25.

This strike will be in addition to the upcoming province-wide walkout on February 21.

At the request of the Ministry of Labour-appointed mediator, the OECTA Provincial Bargaining Team will meet with representatives of the government and the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association on Wednesday, February 19 to continue negotiations, said the OECTA announcement,

“We are ready to get back to the table, but the government needs to recognize that these discussions
must be about protecting our world-renowned publicly funded education system,” said OECTA President Liz Stuart.

“They keep talking about being reasonable, but there is nothing reasonable about cutting supports for vulnerable students, nothing reasonable about increasing class sizes and reducing course options, and nothing reasonable about imposing mandatory e-learning. Catholic teachers have done our part to move these negotiations forward, but we cannot accept the government’s agenda to take resources out of the classroom.

“Everyone is saying we do not support the Ford government’s destructive agenda for publicly funded education, and everyone knows the solution is for the government to back away from their reckless cuts and come up with a real plan to reach a fair agreement. But the government still is not listening. All we can do is continue to demonstrate our determination and solidarity,” Stuart added.

OECTA, which has 45,000 members, engaged in full withdrawals of service on January 21 and February 4, and have been taking administrative job action since January 13.

Lecce Responds

Stephen Lecce, Ontario Minister of Education, said: “Students belong in class. My objective has always been to reach deals with our education labour partners – deals that are fair to students, hard-working parents, and our valued teachers and education workers.

“I am pleased the mediator has called all parties back to the negotiating table, as we have always said, we stand ready to negotiate to reach a deal that keeps students in class.

The government has demonstrated our commitment to reaching a deal by affirming our commitment to maintaining all-day kindergarten, investing in special education needs, and keeping classroom sizes low,” he said.

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