Ontario high school teachers to start work-to-rule campaign next week

Ontario’s high school teachers will start a work-to-rule campaign next week.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) said in a release that its members will begin information picketing and the limited withdrawal of administrative services.

Picketing will not take place during school hours, and the withdrawal of services will affect government or school board initiatives only, not student learning, the OSSTF stressed in a release.

“Federation members will engage in information pickets before or after school, or during lunch periods, designed to educate the public about the Ford government’s destructive plans for Ontario’s publicly-funded education system, and the negative effect those plans will have on the learning environment for students all across the province,” the release reads.

“The information pickets will not disrupt the regular school day and will have no effect on students in the classroom. Educators will simply distribute information to parents and to the general public.”

Earlier this week high school teachers voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

The labour strife comes after the Ford government’s plans to increase class sizes, and recent legislation limiting raises for all public sector workers to one per cent per year for three years.

More to come