Premier Threatens to Cut Pay

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario said on Wednesday, October 28, its members, including fulltime and occasional teachers, “will withdraw from all voluntary extracurricular activities”.

The latest sanction is an update to the ETFO’s ongoing work-to-rule campaign taking place in all public schools across Ontario.

Wynne said she hopes deals can be reached ahead of the November 1 deadline.

“We’ve been working hard to get the CTA to get serious about negotiating an agreement that respects our members and addresses their specific working conditions, which are not that same as other workers’ in our public education system”, said Terri Preston, Chair of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Bargaining Committee (OSBCC).

“We were already scheduled for two days of bargaining next week and we were clear with the CTA, before this meeting happened today, that we wanted them to get serious about bargaining a fair collective agreement”. The employees, represented by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, are refusing to complete duties such as monitoring school entrances, tasks now taken on by principals and vice-principals.

It can’t be denied that Wynne said if Justin became PM, she would not have to go ahead with her plans for the ORPP but now she says that not even a Prime Minister Trudeau can enhance the CPP without the cooperation of all of the Provinces. All items from previous work-to-rule actions will still apply, meaning teachers will not conduct parent-teacher interviews or participate in field trips. “If OPSBA and the government want a deal, why are they not responding to our efforts to resume bargaining?” “People are upset with the government”.

“I’m not going to respond to threats”, he said.

The government has reached agreements with three other teachers’ federations and Wynne has said ETFO and the other unions still without contracts much reach similar deals.

Sandals and representatives of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association will also be in the meeting with Wynne, who last met with the school unions in July.

The Ministry of Education statement agreed with the ETFO sentiment that the best way to resolve the situation would be for all parties to return to the central bargaining table to work through the issues that remain unresolved.

“It’s part of the process”.

As the government tries to eliminate a multi-billion-dollar deficit it has said there is no new money for public sector compensation.

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said Wynne’s gambit Friday was “a distraction” to deflect attention from the payouts to the unions that have supported her Liberals electorally for years.

Deacon said administrators will know more soon about what progress reports might look like.

“It’s been part of the process as long as I’ve been doing this and it’s really nothing new”, he said.