TORONTO -- Ontario elementary teachers hit the picket lines en masse Tuesday in their second provincewide strike meant to put pressure on the government while contract talks remain at a standstill.
The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario is also using the other four days of the week to stage rotating strikes, ensuring each board is hit twice a week. The union escalated strikes to that level after three long days of talks recently failed to produce an agreement.
The two sides haven't returned to the bargaining table since then, and now there are no talks scheduled with any of the four major teachers' unions.
ETFO president Sam Hammond has said the union was close to a deal with the government after those recent bargaining sessions, but the province's negotiators suddenly tabled new proposals at the 11th hour that the union couldn't accept.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce has said compensation is the main issue, and that the teachers are calling for higher wages at the expense of their students.
Hammond has said that compensation did not come up during the most recent round of contract talks.
Unions are asking for wage increases of around two per cent to keep up with inflation, but the government passed legislation last year capping wage hikes for all public sector workers at one per cent for three years. The teachers' unions and several others are fighting the law in court, arguing it infringes on collective bargaining rights.
ETFO has also asked for the government to increase supports for students with special needs and address violence in classrooms.
Hammond said that isn't happening at the bargaining table, but Lecce said the government "has continued to signal reasonableness" on those issues.
Teachers in the French system are holding a provincewide strike on Thursday, and high school teachers are staging a one-day strike at select boards that same day.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2020.
