HWDSB elementary schools closed Friday as contract talks continue

Hamilton’s public elementary schools will be closed Friday as rotating strikes continue throughout the province.

Twenty-eight picket lines will be set up at Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board locations.

Contract talks are set to resume for the third day in a row between Ontario’s public elementary teachers and the government.

The stakes are high to get a deal done because the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario says it will ramp up job action to include two days of walkouts next week if both sides can’t find some middle ground by the end of the day.

The union and government returned to the bargaining table Wednesday for the first time since Dec. 19.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) served notice that it will be engaging in a second, one-day, province-wide, full withdrawal of services on Tuesday, February 4.

OECTA says they will return to the bargaining table after talks broke off earlier this month.