The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) announced on Friday that it will be conducting a strike vote from Nov. 6-16.
The announcement was made during OSSTF/FEESO’s provincial council meeting in Toronto.
Ongoing negotiations between the teachers’ union and the Ontario goåvernment are based on several issues around growing student needs, violence in schools, inadequate supports for students with special education needs, large class sizes, insufficient staffing, contracting out and job loss, and challenges in retaining and recruiting teachers and education workers.
“The goal is to improve the working and learning conditions that allow education workers and teachers to provide students with the support they deserve,” said Bobbi-Lynn Piccolo, president of Student Support Professionals and OSSTF representative.
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation District 6A represents members in both Lakehead Public Schools and Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board.
Approximately 1,100 teachers’ union members who will be impacted in Thunder Bay include early childhood educators, kindergarten aides, student support professionals, secondary teachers, secondary occasional teachers and continuing education instructors at Lakehead Public Schools. It also includes student support professionals, early childhood educators, classroom aides, applied behaviour analysis resource, student success and progress team, attendance counsellors and child and youth workers at the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board.
Piccolo said a strike vote is an important part of the collective bargaining process, but alone does not place workers in a legal strike position.
“The parties must complete additional steps before lawful job action could occur,” Piccolo said. “If job action was ultimately considered, it could take different forms. That could include limited or selective withdrawal of services before any broader withdrawal of services.”
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation introduced negotiations in March and gave notice in early June to begin bargaining with the provincial government. Piccolo says due to disagreements about which items should be negotiated centrally or locally, it is now up to the Ontario Labour Relations Board to make the decision.
“We want a fairly negotiated collective agreement, but that means serious bargaining and real progress at the table. Not more delays,” she said.
