The union that represents teachers in Ontario’s public elementary schools has ordered its members to stop providing all voluntary extracurricular activities on Oct. 28 if a new collective agreement is not reached by then. The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario says it is threatening to escalate its job action because the Ontario Public School Boards Association and the provincial government have “ignored all attempts by ETFO to get them to return to the central bargaining table, including an offer to refer one issue to binding arbitration,” according to a news release.
WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?
True to form in a ruthless battle of government versus big union there is no specific information about the issues that allegedly justify such a reckless stand-off. It might be the union’s brain wave but the education department knows what union boss Sam Hammond is saying Tell the public. How could it possibly damage relations in the present caustic wreckage? Why — really why? Is it about class size, money for “delays” caused by the government, is the coffee cold? It is genuinely shocking how little the public knows about what might be the real issues — or the level of personal animus that exists between the government and the union.
