The union that represents 76,000 teachers in Ontario’s public elementary schools got back to the negotiating table with school boards and the province on Monday.
It’s the first time the sides will meet since the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario vowed in late September to hold rotating one-day strikes in October if a deal had not yet been reached.
The union’s current job action terms prevent teachers from answering emails from administrators at any time unless they concern student safety, updating classroom websites, and holding parent teacher interviews unless there is a concern about a child’s progress.
Teachers have also been asked notto engage in any activity that takes them away from their classrooms, including pre-school breakfast programs or field trips.
Ontario’s public school boards and the province say they want ETFO to accept a deal “within the parameters” of the deal that the province’s Catholic and public high school teachers accepted, which included a one per cent bonus and 1.5 per cent pay increase.
Last week, ETFO filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, claiming that the school boards and the provincial government refused to bargain in good faith.
Support workers such as custodians, secretaries and educational assistants in all Ontario public schools launched increased job action last Tuesday, including refusing to clean certain common areas of schools, refusing to handle cash and participating in any meetings with parents.
