Ontario teachers hold 1-day strike on Wednesday

Thousands of public high school teachers are holding a one-day strike on Wednesday after failing to reach a contract agreement with the Ontario government.

The strike comes after months of contract talks between the union and government resulted in little progress.

Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board elementary and high schools are also closed as part of the strike.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce said he had asked the union to remain at the bargaining table. “My message to parents is that our government has remained reasonable at the negotiating table, with the objective of keeping students in class,” said Lecce in a statement. “I am reaffirming my commitment to examining innovative solutions to avoid a strike. I am open to a framework that achieves our goal of reaching a deal that keeps students in the classroom.”

The two sides have been bargaining for over 200 and in that time, Lecce says the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) has not made any substantive moves since their first proposal was tabled.

Harvey Bischof, president of the OSSTF, says the Ford government did not put forward any constructive proposals through the negotiation process.

The teachers have already stopped performing some administrative tasks as part of a work-to-rule campaign that started last Tuesday.

The union says teachers are pushing back against the government’s plans to increase class sizes and introduce mandatory e-learning.

Bischof says a single-day strike doesn’t come close to the kind of disruption the government will wreak on the education system if they’re allowed to go forward with their proposals.