Ontario elementary and secondary teachers call for strike vote this fall amid stalled bargaining

Most Ontario elementary and secondary teachers are calling for a strike vote in the fall in an effort to push stalled bargaining with the provincial government forward.

In a statement issued Monday, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), who represents about 83,000 public school teachers as well as support personnel, said these votes will take place across the province from mid-September to mid-October.

“ETFO members have been without an agreement for almost a year. They have been patient, but their patience has run out. We need the (Doug) Ford government to take bargaining seriously and to act in good faith, as required by law,” ETFO President Karen Brown said in the statement.

"ETFO’s goal is to reach fair and reasonable agreements without having to take job action. We need the government’s full attention on bargaining so we can address pressing concerns in public education.”

In a document provided to ETFO members in June and obtained by CTV News Toronto, details of of the union's key negotiation points show the Ontario government offered a 1.25 per cent increase for each year of the four year agreement, totaling five per cent. Meanwhile, the same document shows the union was seeking a one per cent increase annually, plus a cost of living adjustment.

In a memo to its members, obtained by CTV News Toronto, the Ontario Secondary School Teacher's Federation (OSSTF) said it will also be seeking a strike mandate early this fall if the two sides can't come to a deal.

In the memo, the union says they hope a "strong strike mandate"  will help them "achieve fair and favourable terms for our members and students."

The vote, if it were to occur, will be held online, the memo says.

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Thousands of education workers walked off the job last year after the Ontario government imposed a contract on them and made it illegal to go on strike. About a month later, after two full-day protests that resulted in province-wide school closures, the two sides reached a deal.

However the other unions within Ontario’s education sector have been without a contract since August 2022.

Brown previously told CP24 the union has had two bargaining dates with the province at the end of this month, but that the government has “not come to the table with a serious intent to bargain.”

The strike vote comes after ETFO filed a complaint with the Ontario Labour Relations Board claiming the provincial government failed to bargain in good faith when it sent out a July memo directing school boards to complete annual early screenings for students in Year 2 of Kindergarten through Grade 2.

They argue that not only does it conflict with terms in their previous agreement that gives teachers the right to choose and implement diagnostic tests, but it also “violated the good faith duties imposed on all parties by education and bargaining legislation."

At the time, the union said the memo was a “major impediment to further central bargaining.”

Karen Littlewood, president of OSSTF, said they have attended 17 days of bargaining for education workers, and 21 days for teachers and occasional teachers since July 2022. She noted that nothing has been scheduled for September.

“It’s really about the government and their will to come to the table,” she said. “We are frustrated.”

The two unions representing English and French Catholic teachers each confirmed they had three scheduled dates set aside for negotiations at the end of the month.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association did not say if it is considering a strike vote, however union President René Jansen in de Wal said in a statement they are also frustrated with the process.

"The government must show that they are serious. They must come to the negotiating table ready to engage in meaningful discussions. We will assess the situation following these next set of bargaining dates, and will make decisions at that time about how to proceed."

In a statement, Education Minister Stephen Lecce went further and said his office has met over 170 times with education unions and is "focused on securing a deal."

"Threatening another strike and creating anxiety for parents and students just weeks before the start of the school year is unnecessary and unfair," he said.

"After private mediation was rejected by teachers’ unions to reach deals, we are available to meet every day to negotiate a deal that keeps students in class and improves the outcomes of students. I believe by staying at the table, we can and will reach a deal that keeps kids learning in classrooms where they belong."

With files from Bryann Aguilar and Codi Wilson