TORONTO — Ontario’s elementary teachers start a week of rotating one-day strikes today, shutting down schools in three boards.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario is holding its first strikes today in the York Region, Toronto and Ottawa-Carleton school boards.
The strikes will hit different boards each day this week as tensions escalate between the union and the province.
All four major teachers’ unions are engaged in job action as they negotiate new collective agreements with the Progressive Conservative government.
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation is holding a one-day strike at some boards on Tuesday, as is the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association.
The unions say that class sizes and cuts to services are the roadblocks in bargaining, while Education Minister Stephen Lecce insists they’re stuck on wages.
Only the union representing teachers in Ontario’s French school system has contract talks scheduled with the government, even as they began a work-to-rule campaign last week.
As the unions ramp up their labour action, the province has sought to strike back.
The government announced last week that it would compensate parents affected by the elementary teacher strikes.
Under the plan, parents whose kids aren’t yet enrolled in school but attend school-based child-care centres affected by the strikes will get the most money — $60 per day — while those with children in grades 1 through 7 will get the least — $25.
While parents of secondary school students won’t get any funding, those with children with special needs up to age 21 will get $40 per day — the same amount as parents whose kids are in kindergarten.
The Ministry of Education has said more than 100,000 parents have signed up for that program, which could cost the government $48 million per day if teachers from all school boards were to strike. That’s less than the $60 million per day the government spends in teacher compensation.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2020.
The Canadian Press
Something interesting that could help out the majority of the population
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156818700425986&id=517745985&sfnsn=mo
I’m all for the teachers and teachers aids. No more cuts to education
Their collective voice may carry more weight if testing scores in this region weren’t so embarrassing and if post-secondary failure rates weren’t so high.
Universities and colleges have been complaining regularly at the low calibre students schools are spitting out in recent years.
ADSB students are struggling compared to others – Soo students who move out town find they’re behind other schools.
As a taxpayer I do have concerns and have a right to disagree with what the teachers are doing and their reasons for doing it! I hope Doug holds his ground
My biggest regret is not being able to be home and continue to homeschool my kids. Just can’t afford it anymore.
When my kids entered public school in gr 5 they were nearly 2 years ahead of the other kids in their grade.
https://www.facebook.com/lorna.lane/posts/10163038841850551
Fire these ungrateful “teachers”. Maybe someone else values a job.
Parmveer Gill go be a teacher with 30-40 students on your work load before you speak about ungrateful.
Parmveer Gill US president Reagan did just that with the striking air traffic controllers in the eighties and there is no reason Premier Ford should not being doing this now.
Conika Marie in other countries, they go with similar number. My mums been a kindergarten teacher for years with those numbers. Get yourself a life
Lol
Conika Marie get your entitled a$$ outta here. Just cause you cant, doesnt mean nobody can.. I dont want my tax dollars wasted on greedy people.
Parmveer Gill yes
Conika Marie Don’t bother trying to argue with people who’ve been brainwashed into believing that teachers are the enemy here. Doug Ford is systematically destroying education and healthcare in Ontario and all they see is he is sticking it to “greedy” teachers and healthcare workers. The true villains are the politicians, who by the way, worked way less than teachers did last year and got MASSIVE raises!!
Abby Obenchain you’re right, sometimes these people aren’t worth going into extended debates with🤷♀️
Other countries may have similar numbers, but theres more to it than just student to teacher ratio.. hours worked, work environment, the output, unexpected hurdles and added challenges of special needs children with little assistance.. there are so many reasons I support these teachers.. heartbreaking how many of our neighbours take them for granted and think so little of them when as you said the politicians work less, systematically destroy our resources, and get paid plenty to do so.
Parmveer Gill maybe sit in a classroom for a day or two then you will know what the teachers deal with .
Conika Marie funny teachers used to make alot less and have class sizes above 30 kids..and u actually taught the students back then as well
Yes but that doesnt make it okay to load classrooms now and expectations are different as well as students. So many more needs now unless you are a parent you cant know the needs in the classroom now.
Curriculum expectations have risen beyond ‘the three Rs’ lol anyway, i support the educators and think its disrespectful to call people our society relies on ungrateful
Conika Marie thats why they have EA’s now, to help with the special needs students and larger class sizes. If anyone is brainwashed, its the same people that side with the greedy teachers who are the same people that are against good paying jobs. But don’t worry we’re getting a giant tiger and more minimum wage jobs!! Hoooorayyy!!!
Yea, while EAs provide some relief there arent enough of them and they too deserve more for the work they do.
Matt Rickman EAs are being cut!!!
Parmveer Gill you just plain out rude. We need the ea’s in the classroom to help keep it safe. They want to cut ea’s out. Do you realize how UNSAFE some classes are and how much some kids need help to succeed
Matt Rickman actually some children that need an EA do not have an EA because it’s not in the budget
The vast majority of the budget is consumed by the topheavy & inflated salaries of teachers, principals and administrators.
The student base has shrunken by 100,000 students over the past decade but somehow there are thousands more teachers and the Ontario education budget increased by $700,000,000. There should have been plenty of room in the budget for EA’s without the inflated salaries of other positions but greed took over.
Further, if it’s really “about the quality of education ” and “for the kids”, then why don’t the teachers take their requested increase off the table and instead leverage for EA’s, etc?
We all know why.
For years the private sector lost their private pensions, lost benefits, were forced to do more with less, largely increased workloads – all while dealing with wage freeze year after year.
Teachers have been painting themselves into a corner for years and now are crying foul because they have to pay the piper.
Aaron Morin and there were a lot less students that had special needs .
If you guys want so much extra for your kids, why dont you just pay extra? Why do you feel like everybody should be paying for it?
Here we go the students arnt gotta learn anything with theses strikes..my opinion is they should lose March break to make up all the days they miss for the strikes.
Trev Fisher you think our kids learn anything right now with the way the classrooms are? It’s not even close to as when we were in school.
Ash Leigh what i getting at our kids losing there education do to these strikes
Trev Fisher I know what you’re getting at but I’m being sincere in saying even when they are in class the extent of the education they are receiving isn’t even close to where it should be due to class sizes and the variety of special need students in those classes AND not enough supports to allow our educators to educate
Ash Leigh I nearly spit my coffee out when the principal told me there’s 37 kids in Juri’s kindergarten class, that is INSANE. The strike is very much needed. It’s a rotating strike with a purpose, they won’t miss much in a week
Trev, educate yourself before you speak.
Trev Fisher maybe you should go back to school #grammarisyourfriend
I don’t mind my children being home! I sure as shit didn’t vote for that ass wipe! My boys are severe autistic and he cut their services and therapies. They were refused their funding. I am all on board with our teachers for our children!!! Keep going our children need more stability and one on one, with larger classes they are taking this away from our children and yes it is making things worse and will not help our children in the long run mentally and emotionally having him do all this BS!
Disgusting
Only one laugh reacting is a teacher go figure
Johnny Wadd I’m no teacher. And I support them 100%
Melissa Merrick that’s good your entitled to your opinion
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