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Teachers threaten strike action
The Brampton Guardian
Friday January 9 2009
Roger Belgrave
 
BRAMPTON - Ontario’s elementary school teachers are threatening to take strike action if contract negotiations do not improve.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), which includes several thousand elementary school teachers at the Peel District School Board, made its intentions clear during a news conference Thursday. Federation President David Clegg said school boards have until Feb. 13 to present something at the bargaining table that appeals to the province’s elementary school teachers.

So far, discussions with the Ontario Public School Boards Association (OPSBA), the provincial body representing Ontario public school boards, have been unproductive, the teachers’ union insisted. To the contrary, according to Clegg, OPSBA has attempted to reverse contract gains made in previous bargaining years.

If school boards attempt to do the same in their negotiations with local union groups, strike action is imminent, Clegg suggested.

“We will initiate strike votes,” he warned. “These votes will be a pre-cursor to job actions. The deadline is Feb. 13.”

The union wanted a financial commitment from the provincial government to close what the teachers estimate is a $711 funding gap between each elementary and secondary school student. ETFO rejected the new contract framework accepted by every other employee group in Ontario public school boards. It would have given them a four-year deal and 12 per cent salary increase.

Now the government is only offering funding for a two-year contract with a four per cent raise.
Peel Board Chair Janet McDougald said the board cannot offer any more than the government has to offer and the teachers’ present stance will make finding a local agreement more challenging.