The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation and the province have all confirmed there are no talks scheduled for the summer.
Michael Barrett, president of the Ontario Public School Boards' Association, told the Star on Friday that talks have been stalled for about two months, with little indication the situation will change.
“There has been no discussion about even getting back to the table and talking,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s not looking very hopeful at this point.”
If talks do resume, it will likely be in September, Barrett said — smack at the start of school.
Elementary school teachers have already threatened to cut administrative work, meetings about students’ transition from one grade to the next and to not book any field trips for the upcoming school year.
Secondary school teachers have also threatened to cut extracurriculars. As well, their union has filed for conciliation, a dispute resolution process that is a prerequisite to a strike.
Barrett said a disruption of school is unlikely, but possible.
“I rather doubt that could take place, because that’s a drastic action, but that’s just my opinion and it’s not worth very much,” he said.
The teachers have been without contracts for almost a year; the parties have been fighting over issues such as class size, salary and sick leave in what was a tumultuous period for labour negotiations.
In May, secondary school teachers began striking in Durham, Peel and Rainbow districts, but they were quickly struck down by a court ruling that found the strikes illegal, and the province, which tabled legislation to force them back to work.
The same month, elementary teachers walked away from the bargaining table after an hour, complaining that the government and school boards refused to drop any of the “offensive” concessions they were demanding.
A spokeswoman for the elementary teachers’ union said it has no comment as it had made its stance abundantly clear: the union will stay away from the bargaining table until demands for concessions are dropped.
The secondary teachers’ union was not immediately available for comment, beyond confirming there were no talks.
Ontario’s Minister of Education Liz Sandals reiterated her previous stance that she is “committed to negotiating throughout the summer.”
She added in a statement the government knows bargaining is difficult, given the “fiscal environment” and that it wants to ensure that students “continue to achieve excellence.”
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association is still at the bargaining table, though it has filled for conciliation as well, moving closer to a possible strike.
Source: thestar.com/
Author: Ethan Lou
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