NORTH BAY -- Elementary education workers with the Near North District School Board are back on the picket line Wednesday as contract talks between the province and the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario resumes.
Picketers were out in front of several of the board's schools, including Chippewa Secondary School in North Bay, as well as Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli‘s constituency office.
This comes as the government-appointed mediator called the two sides back to the bargaining table on Tuesday for talks, which are scheduled to resume Wednesday.
Several education workers' unions are planning to escalate their fight with more walk-offs next week if a deal is not reached. This is the first negotiation between ETFO and the Ministry of Education since mid-December.
The unions are asking for the province to reconsider its plan to increase average class and stop the implementation of mandatory e-learning.
"We don’t want to be here. We don’t want to be on strike," says local ETFO spokesperson Rob Hammond. "We want to be in the classroom working with our kids, and so, we’re hoping with the mediator that both sides will be able to actually have serious discussions about what matters to parents and teachers."
Meanwhile, in a statement, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli says these jobs actions hurt kids and that Ontario will continue to stand up against the protesting teachers.
"For decades, families have faced union job action far too often," said Fedeli in the statement. "Students deserve better, and most importantly, our government believes they deserve to be in class. We will continue our work with one focus: landing deals that keep students in class."
Fedeli alleges teacher union leaders have broken their promise to not impact student learning by withdrawing services for students, including: EQAO math testing, extracurricular activities, and report cards.
The Ontario English Catholic teachers' Association announced it will participate in an Ontario-wide strike next Tuesday, Feb. 4, and ETFO plans to hold another one-day, province-wide strike on Feb. 6 if no deal is reached.
