Elementary Teachers’ Federation Of Ontario To Ramp Up Job Action In September

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While there is a tentative deal for pubic high school teachers, elementary teachers do not have one and they plan to ramp up work-to-rule strike action on the first work day of school.

“We will stay the course to protect teacher professionalism and teachers’ ability to use professional judgment when providing instruction to students,” said Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario President Sam Hammond. “While we have agreed to return to the bargaining table on September 1, there must be movement at the table towards a fair collective bargaining agreement that respects teacher working conditions and student learning conditions.”

Teachers and occasional teachers will remain in schools to carry out their instructional duties and will provide voluntary extra-curricular activities.

They will not longer participate in field trips, collect monies for school-related activities or participate in fundraising activities, respond to any electronic communication from the principal or vice-principal outside of the instructional day except where there is a safety issue involved, collect or distribute to students any paperwork required by the school or school board, and attend open houses or ‘Meet the Teacher” nights outside of the instructional day.

This action is incremental to the administrative work-to-rule strike action that was begun last May that impacts school board and Ministry-related initiatives.

“For six months, the government has stood silently by and done nothing to stop the attempt by the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) to control every classroom at the expense of every teacher. Its demands are not about improving education for our students. They are about increasing management rights and a desire for control,” added Hammond.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents 76,000 elementary public school teachers, occasional teachers and education professionals across the province.