THUNDER BAY - Teachers with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) will hold another one-day walkout in parts of the province next Wednesday, Jan. 15. The walkout is not expected to impact Thunder Bay-area schools, but the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, which includes Dryden and Kenora, is part of the action.
The walkout, which will impact approximately 20 school boards across the province, was announced by the OSSTF on Friday. Sudbury, Ottawa, Hamilton, and Durham are among the regions that will be most affected. The union says staff at other boards across the province will hold information pickets in front of schools and at MPPs’ offices.
In a statement issued on Friday, OSSTF President Harvey Bishcof reiterated that the union's dispute with the province is largely about class size and staffing guarantees - not wages.
"If the government agrees to return to, and maintain, the class size ratios and staffing levels that were in place just a year ago, we will call off our January 15 job action, and continue to bargain in good faith to resolve the many other outstanding issues," he said.
The province rejected a similar offer from the union when it held a one-day walkout last week.
Aside from Dryden and Kenora, the Keewatin-Patricia board also includes schools in Red Lake, Ignace, Ear Falls, and Sioux Lookout. A limited withdrawal of services by the OSSTF, which began Nov. 26, will continue province-wide.
