Ontario English Catholic teachers join other unions in holding strike votes in fall

Ontario English-language Catholic teachers will join their other publicly-funded school counterparts in holding a strike vote in the fall as negotiations with the province continue to stall.

In a statement issued late Monday afternoon, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) said the Doug Ford government has “failed to demonstrate real interest to engage in meaningful discussions.”

“We have reached a critical moment in the bargaining process. Catholic teachers have been bargaining with representatives of the Government of Ontario and Catholic school boards for more than a year – with the goal of realizing a fair, negotiated agreement that supports all students, educators, and families,” President René Jansen in de Wal wrote.

“While the government is telling one story publicly, the reality at the bargaining table is quite different.”

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OECTA says the scope of negotiations have not been finalized almost 15 months into the bargaining process and that solutions proposed by them have been “rejected out-of-hand.”

The province-wide strike vote is set to take place on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19, OECTA said.

“To continue making progress, it has become necessary to conduct a strike vote to demonstrate our Association’s solidarity and resolve,” Jansen in de Wal said.

“We will be asking Catholic teachers to stand united, prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect and build on the success of Ontario’s publicly funded education system, and to support the students we serve.”

The news comes a week after both the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Ontario Secondary Teacher’s Federation (OSSTF) said they would be calling for a strike vote sometime in mid-September or mid-October.

ETFO made the announcement in a public speech while OSSTF did so in a memo to its members.

All unions say the province has provided few opportunities for negotiation and that they 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.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce told CP24 the day after the strike votes were announced that he was “disappointed.”

“By potentially striking and walking away, that's not going to get us to a deal,” he said at the time, adding the government has had over 170 meetings with education unions so far.

“So the government's gonna stay at the table, respect the confidence of the table and work hard on behalf of parents and families and taxpayers to keep these kids in school.”

However unions argue that each bargaining group individually has not had enough time at the table.

“In public, Education Minister Stephen Lecce has said the government is ‘available every day to negotiate.’ In reality, our association has been provided only a couple of days per month to meet – 30 meetings in more than 440 days since we filed notice to bargain – despite our repeated offers and requests for more days,” OECTA said Monday.

Teachers have been without a contract for over a year.

According to a document obtained by CTV News Toronto, the province offered elementary school teachers an increase of 1.25 per cent per year for four years. This is about a five per cent increase over the term of the new agreement.

However, teachers are asking for increases tied to inflation.

Canada's inflation rate rose to 3.3 per cent in July, according to Statistics Canada.