Ontario English Catholic teachers join other unions in holding strike votes in fall

Ontario English-language Catholic lecturers will be part of their different publicly-funded faculty counterparts in holding a strike vote within the fall as negotiations with the province proceed to stall.

In an announcement issued late Monday afternoon, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) stated the Doug Ford authorities has “failed to demonstrate real interest to engage in meaningful discussions.”

“We have reached a critical moment in the bargaining process. Catholic teachers have been bargaining with representatives of the Government of Ontario and Catholic school boards for more than a year – with the goal of realizing a fair, negotiated agreement that supports all students, educators, and families,” President René Jansen in de Wal wrote.

“While the government is telling one story publicly, the reality at the bargaining table is quite different.”

OECTA says the scope of negotiations haven’t been finalized nearly 15 months into the bargaining course of and that options proposed by them have been “rejected out-of-hand.”

The province-wide strike vote is about to happen on Oct. 18 and Oct. 19, OECTA stated.

“To continue making progress, it has become necessary to conduct a strike vote to demonstrate our Association’s solidarity and resolve,” Jansen in de Wal stated.

“We will be asking Catholic teachers to stand united, prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect and build on the success of Ontario’s publicly funded education system, and to support the students we serve.”

The news comes per week after each the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Ontario Secondary Teacher’s Federation (OSSTF) stated they might be calling for a strike vote someday in mid-September or mid-October.

ETFO made the announcement in a public speech whereas OSSTF did so in a memo to its members.

All unions say the province has supplied few alternatives for negotiation and that they didn’t discount in good religion when it despatched out a July memo directing faculty boards to finish annual early screenings for college kids in Year 2 of Kindergarten by Grade 2.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce advised CP24 the day after the strike votes have been introduced that he was “disappointed.”

“By potentially striking and walking away, that’s not going to get us to a deal,” he stated on the time, including the federal government has had over 170 conferences with training unions up to now.

“So the government’s gonna stay at the table, respect the confidence of the table and work hard on behalf of parents and families and taxpayers to keep these kids in school.”

However unions argue that every bargaining group individually has not had sufficient time on the desk.

“In public, Education Minister Stephen Lecce has said the government is ‘available every day to negotiate.’ In reality, our association has been provided only a couple of days per month to meet – 30 meetings in more than 440 days since we filed notice to bargain – despite our repeated offers and requests for more days,” OECTA stated Monday.

Teachers have been with out a contract for over a yr.

According to a doc obtained by CTV News Toronto, the province provided elementary faculty lecturers a rise of 1.25 per cent per yr for 4 years. This is a couple of 5 per cent improve over the time period of the brand new settlement.

However, lecturers are asking for will increase tied to inflation.

Canada’s inflation price rose to three.3 per cent in July, in keeping with Statistics Canada.