Peel secondary school teachers on strike

Public high school teachers in Peel Region have joined their counterparts in Durham and Sudbury on the picket line Monday morning after they were unable to reach a collective agreement with their board over the weekend.

Representatives from the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) said they were disappointed that bargaining with the provincial government its school board partners, represented by the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA), failed to reach an agreement.

“We have been making a concerted effort to move these talks forward, but the management team refuses to recognize the professional judgement of our members and continues to threaten the learning conditions of Ontario students by tabling proposals that will lead to larger class sizes,” OSSTF president Paul Elliott said in a statement on Monday morning.

As the 12:01 a.m. strike deadline neared, the OSSTF said their goal remained to negotiate a fair and reasonable agreement with the Peel District School Board, but their members were becoming increasingly frustrated.

The teachers’ collective agreement expired in August of 2014.

In a statement, Peel board chair Janet McDougald blasted the OSSTF for the move, calling it “disingenuous” and “irresponsible to disrupt the school year for 42,000 Peel secondary students as a political tactic.”

“In going ahead with the strike, they proved what boards have known all along—there’s no sincere commitment by provincial OSSTF to reach a local settlement,” McDougald said.

“They’re just using the excuse of not reaching local agreements as a cover for their strategy to pressure the provincial table.”

The union claims work both inside and outside of the classroom becomes more demanding all the time for teachers, but the employer has refused to address their concerns in any meaningful way at the bargaining table

At this point, no further bargaining dates have been scheduled.

Due to the strike all Peel secondary schools will be closed on Monday.

Peel secondary schools are advising students to check the board’s website and Twitter page for any updates.

According to the OSSTF website, union members will be picketing from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Click here for a list of picket locations.

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