THUNDER BAY – Aldo Grillo’s feeling pretty lonely these days.
The head of the Thunder Bay Elementary Unit of the Ontario Elementary Catholic Teachers’ Association on Sunday said rotating strikes are scheduled to begin Tuesday, but mum’s the word from the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board.
“All the director has to do is pick up the telephone,” Grillo said in a release. “We are available anytime to bargain a fair resolution to this labour dispute.
“In the alternative we have also repeatedly offered to accept voluntary binding arbitration by an independent third party and promised to immediately end all sanctions and return to work as normal, but the school board continues to reject that offer.”
Teachers announced last week rotating strikes will begin on Tuesday, starting at Pope John Paul II, Bishop E.Q. Jennings and Bishop Gallagher schools.
They had to give at least 24-hours of notice. The board has repeatedly said if teachers walked off the job it would result in a lockout at all its elementary schools. Its leadership has also refused the offer of binding arbitration.
The board’s director of education, Pino Tassone, cited the safety of students as the reason.
At issue is the board’s internal hiring policy. The union wants more say in who is hired, while the board says it should maintain the right to decide who gets the job.
Time is running out, Grillo said.
“We aren’t going to resolve this labour dispute if we aren’t even talking to one another, so maybe the perspective of a third party is the way to go to get a fair resolution.
Grillo added what they are seeking is not much different than what’s in place at as many as 15 other Catholic boards in Ontario and at the TBCDSB’s secondary schools in Thunder Bay.
“The board did finally offer us some of the criteria we were looking for but it came with a complete override provision that made all the agreed upon criteria useless,” says Grillo. “If the Board wants to talk we will be available but we haven’t heard from them since they walked out of the hotel where we were bargaining.”
Teachers have been in a legal strike position since last June. The board must give at least five days notice before they can lock teachers out.
