THUNDER BAY -- Local school board officials say it’s unclear how strike action taken by education workers will play out, but they’ll take it one day at a time.
As of midnight Monday members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation went into a legal strike position after closed-door negotiations broke down. Several unions in education have been protesting the controversial Bill 115, passed in September, which they say has removed their right to collective bargaining.
The union, which includes educational assistants in public boards along with early childhood educators and student support professionals in the Catholic board, will implement sanctions in 20 school boards across the province including Lakehead Public Schools and the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board. OSSTF District 6A teacher president Paul Caccamo said the move was necessary.
“To try and create some pressure and move everybody toward an atmosphere where we can sit down and have some meaningful talks with a view toward resolving the negotiations,” he said.
The long list of sanctions includes everything from not attending staff meetings to stopping assigned supervision. But Caccamo said it won’t change anything for those teachers involved in extra-cirricular activities.
“Today and tomorrow and throughout this week in schools teachers continue to volunteer their time coaching and working with student councils,” he said.
And unsupervised supervision, such as addressing student behaviour in the halls, would also continue he said.
Lakehead Public Schools director Cathi Siemieniuk said the board’s superintendents have spoken with the union and remain in contact with administrators at the schools.
“It’s really a school by school thing but we’re working with our principals and vice-principals to monitor how that’s going to play out,” she said.
The board knew the sanctions were a possibility.
“We were hopeful that they might have been able to reach an agreement on the weekend but that didn’t happen,” she said.
But Siemieniuk said she’s glad that teachers and support staff remain committed to the classroom despite what sanctions might bring.
“(They’re) really prepared to protect the integrity of the classrooms and we’re very grateful for that,” she said.
Supervision would also be affected in the catholic board as more than 114 support staff are also represented by OSSTF. Director Joan Powell said the board will deal with the sanctions as they come.
“We’re monitoring that closely. Really we have to let the union take the lead. They’re bringing on the job action so we need to be clear on what that job action is,” she said. “We’ll take it a day at a time.”
A full list of sanctions can be seen here
