THUNDER BAY -- A little more than a week after calling off planned rotating strikes, members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association are planning a province-wide walkout next Thursday.
The union announced the one-day strike on Thursday, citing stalled negotiations with the province.
"Instead of coming to the table with a plan to reach an agreement, the government continued to insist on its deep, permanent cuts,” said OECTA president Liz Stuart in a release isued by the union.
“All the while, the minister of education has continued his attempts to mislead the public, by making baseless accusations against Catholic teachers and our Association, and by peddling the inaccurate claim that enhancements to our benefits plan is the sticking point in bargaining."
OECTA leaders have accused the province of negotiating in bad faith and attempting to mislead the public during a heated bargaining period that has seen teachers walk out of the classroom on several different occasions.
The union is fighting to maintain full-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes, an end to mandatory online learning and wage increases tied to inflation.
“Our association remains committed to the goal of reaching a fair agreement at the bargaining table. However, we cannot tolerate the Ford government’s penchant for misinformation and mis-truth, nor its efforts to dismantle publicly funded education,” Stuart said.
