TORONTO – Ontario’s elementary school teachers could suffer a lesson in subtraction of their own salaries if their union can’t reach a deal with the Ministry of Education Sunday.
Premier Kathleen Wynne set Nov. 1 as the deadline for teachers to terminate their ongoing work-to-rule campaign or face a possible dock in pay.
The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), which represents roughly 78,000 teachers across the province, said it won’t respond to any threats.
WATCH: Kathleen Wynne on ETFO talks: Our children deserve better
Both sides remain at the bargaining table Sunday, but an ETFO representative told Global News she wouldn’t comment on the progress of negotiations, saying there was a mutually agreed-upon media blackout in place.
A spokesperson for the province simply said that bargaining is ongoing and that the province remains “committed to reaching a negotiated agreement.”
Elementary teachers have been without a contract since August 2014, and instituted the job action to protest the lack of progress at the bargaining table. On Oct. 28, the ETFO withdrew from all voluntary extracurricular activities, adding to a campaign that’s already seen teachers and other staff refusing to write report card comments, nixing parent-teacher interviews and even leaving school doors unlocked.
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