Teachers facing deadline to reach deal

Today is the deadline set by the province to reach a deal with Elementary school teachers, custodians and other education support workers or face having their pay docked if they fail to reach a contract settlement.

Last week, Premier Kathleen Wynne threatened to authorize local school boards to begin cutting wages, as of November 1st, for work not done.

That would empower the boards to issue a five-day warning that their unionized employees will be penalized for not doing their jobs.

Wynne said conditions inside some schools are becoming unsanitary and unsafe, and while workers have every right to demonstrate, learning conditions for Ontario students, must be the first priority.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) have been at the bargaining table with representatives from the province this week.

Premier Kathleen Wynne is in California today to meet with political and business leaders from the film and technology industries and to discuss climate change.