WATCH: Paul Elliot of OSSTF discusses the standstill with labour negotiations with the province and the school boards.
TORONTO – High school teachers in Peel Region are set to walk off the job on Monday, May 4 if a collective agreement isn’t reached with the board on the weekend.
Teachers in Durham Region and Sudbury are already off the job due to strike action.
“What we’re hearing around the province, Durham, Sudbury and Peel, even from Toronto, their hands are tied until something happens at the provincal table,” said Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation President Paul Elliot during an interview on Global’s The Morning Show on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Talks resume between union and province, Durham teachers still on strike
The union says one of the key sticking points for teachers right now has to do with the removal of class caps.
“It’s become a touchstone across the province because it’s something we’ve worked at for decades, trying to get class sized down to a lower level where it’s manageable,” said Elliot.
“We have a real fear that the removal of those class caps, you’ll start to see those class caps rise again and the only people that are going to lose are the students.”
This is the first round of negotiations since the province brought in a new bargaining system, with both local and provincial officials at the table.
VIDEO: OSSTF sets a strike deadline of May 4 if a collective agreement isn’t reached by then, affecting 42,000 students in Peel Region. Lama Nicolas reports.
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