Toronto teachers protest at education ministry

Toronto elementary and high school teachers held a political protest on Tuesday against Bill 115 at the Ministry of Education after a planned job action last week was scrubbed at the last minute.

Members of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT) and Toronto members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) gathered at Mowat Block, at Bay and Wellesley streets, at 5 p.m.

Teachers, including Liz who took part in the demonstration, say Bill 115 strip them of their democratic rights.

“I just don’t think that’s a democratic process and I think we have to stand up and say so,” Liz said.

The demonstration, which began on the sidewalk, then moved to the street as hundreds blocked traffic in both directions on Bay Street.

Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), said he was pleased with the turnout.

“The turnout is excellent,” he said. “The Elementary Teachers of Toronto and their [OSSTF] counterpart organized this today — on Jan. 15  — or ’0115′ if you will, to relate it to Bill 115,” he said.

Public elementary teachers across Ontario planned to walk off the job last Friday under the directive of their union, the ETFO. However, Premier Dalton McGuinty appealed to the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB), which ruled the protest was “unlawful.” The union and the government then ordered teachers back to work.

Tuesday’s protest also took aim at the OLRB, calling Friday’s decision “frustrating.” The ETFO plans to meet between now and March 1 to decide whether to continue boycotting voluntary activities, ETT members told CityNews.

The ETT, the Toronto branch of ETFO, also encouraged teachers to wear black to school on Tuesday.

The OSSTF was planning to hold a political protest on Wednesday but in the wake of the OLRB decision, cancelled plans for a similar protest. The union said in a release Tuesday that members from 14 boards would hold protests at their local MPP offices on Wednesday.

The protests were announced after Education Minister Laurel Broten imposed contracts on teachers using Bill 115 on Jan. 3. The unions claim Bill 115 violated their rights to collective bargaining and have filed court challenges.

The imposed contract included a wage freeze, 10 sick days — down from 20 — and grandfathering out the practice of banking unused sick days. It was based on an agreement with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) and Ontario’s French teachers.

The province reached tentative agreements with two education unions — the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union — and reached deals with 65 of 270 school boards.

The government-imposed contract expires in August 2014.

With files from Shawne McKeown and 680News