Peel high school teachers strike

[projekktor id=’18812′]

(Updated) 42,000 public high school students in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon have a day off today. That’s because their teachers are the latest to walk off the job, after contract talks broke down.

Lots of teachers from the Peel District School Board are picketing outside the board’s headquarters, up and down both sides of the street. It’s the third board in the province to go on strike, with walkouts in Rainbow District around Sudbury, and in Durham region.

A total of about 70,000 high school students in Ontario are not in school.

This is the first year that the province has started a new bargaining system, with all the big issues, the money issues, being handled provincially. Those provincial talks have also broken down. But Janet McDougald, the chair of the Peel District School Board says this strike is not about local issues at all. She says it’s a provincial takeover disguised as local action.

It’s really been unclear to understand what these strikes are about. Education minister Liz Sandals doesn’t have an explanation and the unions say they don’t want to bargain in the media. Here’s what the head of the OSSTF union local, Paul Elliott told CHCH News this morning.

“There was a couple of issues that we really wanted dealt with that we’ve with been trying to deal with for the last 10 years. There was an opportunity here to settle a deal. And if that had happened last night, this wouldn’t be happening now. And we still would be having our same issues at the central table.”

In a statement on the school board website, Janet McDougald says she finds this strike unfair. This is the end of the year . This is the time when students are wait for their final marks. They’re got final the final feats of athleticism, the final plays of the year.

But there are also tips for students what to do during the strike such as self-directed study, and getting volunteer hours done.

CHCH’s Lisa Hepfner is catching up with high school students this afternoon to see what they’re planning to do this week. She’ll have that tonight on the Evening News at 6.