‘To not have a deal at this point is ridiculous’: Windsor-Essex teachers unions weigh in on strike vote

Most Ontario elementary and secondary teachers are calling for a strike vote in the fall in an effort to push stalled bargaining with the provincial government forward.

In a statement issued Monday, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), who represents about 83,000 public school teachers as well as support personnel, said these votes will take place across the province from mid-September to mid-October.

“ETFO members have been without an agreement for almost a year. They have been patient, but their patience has run out. We need the (Doug) Ford government to take bargaining seriously and to act in good faith, as required by law,” ETFO President Karen Brown said in the statement. "ETFO’s goal is to reach fair and reasonable agreements without having to take job action. We need the government’s full attention on bargaining so we can address pressing concerns in public education.”

Greater Essex ETFO president Mario Spagnuolo told CTV News that the move is considered a tool in the union’s toolbox to get the government to bargain more seriously.

“If the government doesn't come seriously to the table to try to get a collective agreement, then we will be proceeding with taking strike votes and once we have the strike mandate, then we have the ability to say to the government, ‘Do you believe us now?’,” said Spagnuolo.

In a document provided to ETFO members in June and obtained by CTV News Toronto, details of the union's key negotiation points show the Ontario government offered a 1.25 per cent increase for each year of the four-year agreement, totaling five per cent.

Meanwhile, the same document shows the union was seeking a one per cent increase annually, plus a cost of living adjustment.

Education minister Stephen Lecce said the province wants a deal that respects teachers but also keeps kids in school without any disruption.

“Threatening another strike vote and creating more anxiety just weeks before the return to school is not going to resolve those issues,” said Lecce. “What's going to resolve the issue of improving education quality is having these kids stay in schools, they can have some consistency.”

The Ontario Secondary Schools Teacher’s Federation (OSSTF), which represents public high school teachers, also supports the strike vote.

OSSTF District 9 President Erin Roy said a wage increase at the rate of inflation tops the list of demands.

“To not have a deal at this point in time is ridiculous,” said Roy. “Please don't be duped by some of the government rhetoric about how the education workers and the teachers are being greedy. Like we're just asking what every other worker in Canada and Ontario is looking for.”

According to Spagnuolo, the inflation rate has gone up 26.4 per cent since 2012. Teachers’ wages, he said, have gone up by 8.5 per cent during that time.

Without a collective agreement in place, the unions said the strike votes will take place between mid-September and mid-October.

 

—With files from Katherine DeClerq