Ontario's public elementary school teachers will withdraw from all extracurricular activities starting next week.

The announcement was made Thursday, in a statement from the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario that said talks with the Ontario Public School Boards' Association and the province have failed.

As a result, the union's 78,000 members are escalating their current work-to-rule action.

Starting Wednesday, Oct. 28, members of the union will withdraw from all voluntary extracurricular activities. Until then, teachers will continue with Phase 3 of the campaign.

"Our members do not undertake this escalation of strike action lightly, but they understand that reaching a fair and reasonable agreement will not happen unless OPSBA and the government are present at the bargaining table," ETFO president Sam Hammond said in the statement.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Liz Sandals said in a statement released Thursday afternoon that it is “regrettable that ETFO is continuing to participate in job action that has a direct impact on our students.”

The spokesperson said that the ministry has proposed dates to ETFO for the parties to resume negotiations next week, and is awaiting a response.

“The best way to resolve job action is for all parties to be at the central bargaining table ready to work through the remaining issues and we urge ETFO to focus on bargaining rather than further disruption in our schools.”

Amid ongoing labour negotiations, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is set to meet with officials from the ETFO, Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation at Queen’s Park on Friday morning.

During Phase 3, which launched last month, teachers and occasional teachers will:

  • Not fill in for an absent teacher or take on additional students if a class is collapsed because an occasional teacher has not been retained
  • Not take on additional duties during regularly scheduled preparation time (including teaching in another class)
  • Not participate in teacher performance appraisal meetings, unless the member is on an improvement plan or long-term occasional assignment
  • Not respond to email, electronic or phone communication from administrators unless it involves the safety of others, absences, day plans or occasional teacher assignments
  • Not update classroom websites, blogs or newsletters
  • Not submit any long-range or short-range plans, or literacy and numeracy block plans
  • Not update Individual Education Plans (IEPs) after the 30th day of school deadline
  • Not participate in any in-school meetings or professional learning activities on PA days, opting instead to use the time for their own professional development within the classroom
  • Not prepare report card comments or complete or package progress reports, though they will provide administrators with a hard copy list of learning skills and work habits ratings
  • Not conduct parent interview related to the progress report cards, unless there are concerns identified by the teacher about a child's progress
  •  Not act as division chairs or team leads

On Wednesdays, nicknamed by the union as "Wynne Wednesdays" teachers:

  • Refrain from any activities that take them away from their classrooms
  • Demonstrate union solidarity by wearing ETFO buttons, caps or T-shirts, or a union colour
  • Send messages to the Minister of Education or the Ontario Public School Board Association (OPSBA) about the importance of "fair and reasonable collective bargaining"
  • Engage in planned lobbying activities including pickets, rallies and letter-writing campaigns.