Teachers’ union at loggerheads with minister

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario has responded to education minister Laurel Broten’s move to get the union back to the provincial bargaining table.

Broten had a news conference Monday urging teachers to get back to the provincial bargaining table. Yesterday she sent letters to 72 school boards telling them they would have to respect what is decided at the provincial level, regardless of their individual negotiations.

The province wants to freeze wages, get rid of banked sick days, and change pensions.

The teachers still want to be able to negotiate with individual boards, and the union is angry those talks are being circumvented. They say they supported the Liberals in the election, but their good relationship with the party ended the day after the election.

Negotiations don’t even start until June and the union won’t speculate on whether or not parents should worry about a strike next fall.

Video: Lisa Hepfner reports: