Ontario’s teachers’ unions are calling on the Ford government to officially present its proposals at the bargaining table.
In a significant set of concessions, Education minister Stephen Lecce has agreed to reduce the average class size to 23, down from the government’s original proposal of 28…..and make the controversial e-learning courses in high school, optional.
But the government won’t change its mind on offering a one-per-cent yearly pay raise, or a demand that there be changes to rules covering staffing on a seniority basis.
In return, Lecce wants the unions to cancel their planned strikes and return to the bargaining table.
But the president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, Liz Stuart, says they won’t call off their scheduled province-wide walkout tomorrow unless the government’s proposals are formally presented at the negotiating table.
The head of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, Sam Hammond, says they’ve learned that Lecce’s public announcements don’t always translate into proposals at the bargaining table.
Locally, English and French Catholic as well as French Public school teachers and support workers will be on the picket lines in the Algoma, Manitoulin and Sudbury District.
