TORONTO -- Schools in 16 boards across Ontario will be closed today, as the union representing public high school teachers holds another one-day strike.
It is the fifth job action in the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation's series of rotating strikes during a contentious round of bargaining with the province.
The union, which represents 60,000 teachers and education workers, began one-day walkouts on Dec. 4 with a job action that closed schools across the province.
It has followed up with weekly rotating strikes that have closed all secondary schools and some elementary schools at the affected boards. In addition to representing high school teachers, the OSSTF represents education workers at some elementary schools.
Teachers were angered when the government announced that average high school class sizes would increase and four e-learning courses would be mandatory for graduation. The government has since scaled back those proposals, but OSSTF president Harvey Bischof has said it's not enough.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce has repeatedly said the key sticking point is compensation, with the union demanding a roughly two-per-cent wage increase and the government offering one per cent.
The impacted school boards for Wednesday's strike are:
- Keewatin-Patricia District School Board
- District School Board Ontario North East
- Moose Factory Island District Area School Board
- James Bay Lowlands Secondary School Board
- Rainbow District School Board
- Bluewater District School Board
- Upper Grand District School Board
- Wellington Catholic District School Board
- Durham District School Board
- Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
- Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board
- Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
- Upper Canada District School Board
- Conseil scolaire de district catholique des Grandes Rivières
- Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien
- Provincial Schools Authority
