Toronto: Mediated discussions between the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), school board associations and the Ford government, which had resumed on January 29, broke down late Friday, January 31.
ETFO will escalate its rotating strikes across the province beginning Monday, February 3. The union represents 83,000 elementary public school teachers, occasional teachers and education professionals across the province.
Other unions, such as those of secondary and catholic schools, are also intensifying job action putting pressure on Ford government and its embattled Education Minister Stephen Lecce.
“ETFO made every effort over the past three days to move negotiations forward but it became increasingly clear that the Ford government was not willing to address key issues in any meaningful way,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond. “For example, the government wants to reduce funding to support the learning needs of special education students, and it wants ETFO to agree to those cuts at the bargaining table. We can’t do that.”
“The government is unwilling to make any significant efforts to address the problem of classroom violence, or to support the integration of students with diverse learning needs,” continued Hammond.
School boards and the government are also trying to gut a long-standing fair, transparent and equitable teacher hiring process established under Regulation 274/12.
“The Minister [Stephen Lecce] claims that he is there for students,” stated Hammond. “If that’s the case, then he should have no issue instructing his bargaining team to make investments in the priority funding and special education funding currently on the table.”
Minister Responds
Stephen Lecce, Ontario Minister of Education, said: I have long said that compensation, pay, and benefits, remain a top priority for teachers’ union leaders, and that remains true today…ETFO leadership continues to advance compensation for their members over the protection of the education system for our youngest learners.
“The government has continued to signal reasonableness on issues from special education supports to efforts to counter violence in schools. Yet, the teachers’ union leadership push for compensation that comes with a substantial cost to the taxpayer.
“While the mediator has called off discussions for now, the government stands ready to meet at any time, to reach a deal that keeps students in class,” Lecce added.
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