Ontario public elementary teachers begin work-to-rule Nov. 26

Thestar.com
Nov. 15, 2019
Kristin Rushowy

Ontario’s public elementary teachers are upping the pressure on the provincial government, launching a work-to-rule campaign in less than two weeks that their union says won’t impact students.

Starting Nov. 26, teachers will stop attending staff and school meetings or participate in any ministry-related activities, as well as a host of other tasks intended to target school and board administration and the education ministry.

They’ve also decided not to file progress reports or complete first-term report cards, instead giving principals a list of student grades, with “one brief comment per frame” for kids in kindergarten.

Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), said Thursday the move is in response to a lack of progress at the bargaining table, urging the province to “come to the table, make a commitment to full-day kindergarten, come to our table and reinvest that $90 million for students with special needs, and who are at risk. That will kick-start this process and we can move forward.”

Hammond said report cards were included because filling them out “does not affect student learning, their learning environment or their progress within each of their grade levels. It is just another administrative task.”

Education Minister Stephen Lecce called the job action “disheartening” and “disappointing.”

Elementary teachers remain at the negotiating table with the province and school board associations -- as do all other teacher unions -- and recently received a near-unanimous strike mandate from members.

News of their work-to-rule comes a day after Ontario’s Catholic teachers released strike vote results, with 97.1 per cent voting in favour of job action. Their union does not yet have a legal strike date. Neither do the teachers in the province’s French boards.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation is a legal strike position on Nov. 18, but will not launch any immediate job action. (Unions are required to give five days’ notice before doing so.)

In a statement, Lecce said “it is disappointing that ETFO has decided to escalate to a partial withdrawal of services, which hurts our kids, despite a limited number of outstanding items at the table.”

He said the government and school trustee association “have continued to table reasonable and expanded offers through the negotiation process, with only one interest in mind: landing a deal that keeps our kids in class.”

Lecce also slammed the elementary teachers’ union for banning participation in activities related to a new math strategy, accusing it of “specifically target several initiatives and resources designed to improve students’ confidence and knowledge in math. The singular victim of this escalation is our kids. Given that far too many students across the province continue to struggle with math, this move will clearly hurt students in, and beyond, the classroom.”

He said he “(stands) with parents who know that labour action by unions hurts our students, and we will work to ensure students remain in the classroom.”

Hammond said Thursday that elementary teachers are “making (the work-to-rule) known well in advance to assure parents that this strike action will not affect students, their learning or their safety.”

Ditching administrative tasks -- which include refusing to take part in any standardized testing, and using professional development days for “their own self-directed activities” -- will give his 83,000 members “more time to focus on working with students,” Hammond said.

“Our goal is to turn up the heat on Premier Ford and his education minister, Stephen Lecce. It’s critical that they finally come to contract talks prepared to address the real issues of concern: more supports for students with special needs, the protection of Ontario’s Kindergarten program and critical issues like addressing violence in schools,” Hammond said.

The teacher unions also represent early childhood educators and support staff in some boards.

Liz Stuart, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, said her members’ strong strike vote tells the government “loud and clear” that “Catholic teachers will not accept any agreement that would be detrimental to learning and working conditions in our schools.”

Stuart said “the government will try to portray this as teachers escalating tensions, but the reality is they have created this situation by continuing to pursue their reckless cuts to education.”

The elementary teachers’ union has said the government is proposing millions in concessions, including the loss of a $50-million fund to hire more special education teachers.

Lecce has said that wage increases are a key issue and that to give teachers a two per cent raise -- roughly equal to the cost of living -- would cost $1.5 billion a year.

In a statement Wednesday, Lecce said the Catholic teachers’ union “is escalating at a time parents want us to focus on getting a deal that provides predictability for families.”

“Strike action caused by unions could mean school closures, disruption, and uncertainty for students and parents. I support a deal, not a strike,” said Lecce, noting the government negotiated a settlement with school support workers in the Canadian Union of Public Employees last month.

“Our team remains unequivocal in our determination to land deals with our labour partners, as we did successfully with CUPE, to provide predictability and certainty to parents, and to keep our kids in the classroom.”

Last week, the government passed legislation capping public sector raises at one per cent a year, which unions have vowed to fight in court.

However, the Star’s Robert Benzie has just reported that a loophole has allowed Ontario Power Generation workers to recently get double that.

NDP Education Critic Marit Stiles said Premier Doug Ford “intentionally picked a fight with teachers, making students pawns in his political game. Ford’s wage cap law doesn’t help get a fair deal -- and it’s school communities that are paying the price for that, although we’re appreciative that teachers are ensuring students’ education doesn’t suffer.”

Bischof has said the province only landed a deal with CUPE once it had a strong strike mandate and began a work-to-rule.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said “I share their frustration that the government is ignoring real concerns about violence in classrooms and supports for students with special needs. It should not take the threat of job action for the education minister to care about these issues.”

Meanwhile, the Toronto local of the high school teachers’ union voted 95 per cent in favour of job action in their negotiations with the Toronto District School Board.

“This result is a clear message from Toronto’s high school teachers that local bargaining matters. There are important issues to be dealt with on behalf of TDSB high school teachers at the local bargaining table,” said local President Leslie Wolfe, noting that talks continue.