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UPDATE: Teachers threaten strike on Monday

Catholic elementary teachers in Thunder Bay could walk off the job as soon as next week.
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OECTA Local union president Aldo Grillo. (tbnewswatch.com file photograph)

Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board elementary teachers could walk off the job as early as Monday, Jan. 30.

Aldo Grillo, president of the local branch of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, initially announced today that the union had "given the board notification that full withdrawal of services, whether a full walkout or rotating strikes," may begin anytime on or after that date.

However, a subsequent news release from the union only referred to "rotating strikes."

Grillo said that OECTA will give the board 24 hours notice of any walkout.

"At this point I guess there is a strong likelihood that it will happen," he said. "The actual nature and start date of this job action hasn't been determined at this point, but again on or after this coming Monday it could happen at any time."

Grillo added that it's been 14 months since negotiations on a new collective agreement started, and that "we're looking and trying to find ways to get this thing settled."

The 380 teachers in the bargaining unit have been in a legal strike position since last June.

The director of education for the school board, Pino Tassone, expressed disappointment with the teachers' decision. "We believed and know that we gave significant improvements to many of the outstanding items that were sitting at the table. We gave them the transparency, we gave them a centralized process. We also gave them language where we stated that we wouldn't hire arbitrarily," he said. "We thought we had a deal." 

The teachers union feels the board's offer still falls short of what's needed. "My members are fed up with being treated like their years of service and experience don't matter," Grillo said.

Tassone said board officials will meet with trustees to discuss options, with a decision on next steps expected by the end of the week.

If a strike does occur, schools will be kept open and supervision will be provided for students show up. But a spokesperson said the board expects that some parents may want to make alternative arrangements for their children in the event of a strike, since no classroom instruction will be provided.

 



Gary Rinne

About the Author: Gary Rinne

Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Gary started part-time at Tbnewswatch in 2016 after retiring from the CBC
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