Broten accuses teachers of ‘seeking conflict’
Posted December 3, 2012 5:36 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Education Minister Laurel Broten accused Ontario’s teachers of “seeking conflict” after one union reportedly began voting on one-day walkouts.
“Local bargaining has been suspended and ratification votes on locally-negotiated agreements are being cancelled,” Broten said at Queen’s Park on Monday.
“It’s the union leaders, not our teachers, who refuse to accept our shared fiscal realities… What appears to be clear is that the teachers’ union leadership has turned its back on cooperation and instead sought conflict.”
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), which represents public elementary teachers, is expected to outline its latest call to action, reportedly one-day walkouts, amid its battle with the provincial government over Bill 115.
Teachers continue to vote online Monday on whether to hold rolling, one-day walkouts, according to a report in the Globe and Mail. The voting ends at midnight and the results are expected to be announced Tuesday.
The approximately 76,000 ETFO members started casting their electronic ballots on Sunday.
The one-day walkouts would happen between Dec. 10 and 21, the Globe reports.
In a statement issued last week, the ETFO said it would give parents 72 hours notice of any strike action.
“It is unfortunate that we have been placed in the position of having to strike by Broten, but we will provide parents with ample notice to ensure the safety of students,” ETFO president Sam Hammond said in a Nov. 28 statement. “By her actions, the minister has let everyone down by stripping teachers and education professionals of their democratic rights, and shutting down recent talks at the provincial level.”
Broten has threatened to use the tools embedded in Bill 115 — the controversial legislation passed on Sept. 11 that imposed a two-year contract on educators — to block strikes. Bill 115, also called the Putting Students First Act, prohibits strikes or lockouts, freezes teachers’ wages for two years and halves their sick days.
Teachers in York Region are currently in legal strike position. Toronto teachers will be in strike position on Dec. 10.
Elementary teachers in Guelph and Niagara are the latest to step-up job action — they’re starting administrative and extra- curricular sanctions Monday.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s public high school teachers are expected to outline what’s next for them in protest of Bill 115, which could include joining elementary teachers in one-day walkouts.
