Thames Valley elementary school teachers to hold strike vote Thursday

Members of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) in the London area will hold a central strike vote on Thursday.

It’s part of a series of votes for ETFO members across Ontario that began in late September. If a majority approves, 78,000 teachers, occasional teachers and other education professionals could be in a legal potential strike position as early as November.

In a release, the ETFO stressed that the goal is to reach an agreement without having to take job action.

“We are committed to continuing negotiations until a fair and reasonable collective agreement can be reached that protects and improves the learning and working conditions in public elementary schools in Ontario,” said ETFO provincial president Sam Hammond.

Members from the Thames Valley Teacher and Thames Valley Occasional Teacher locals will hold a confidential members’ meeting and central strike vote on Thursday.

Thursday’s meeting and vote will be held a week after the ETFO asked for a conciliation officer to help with stalled contract talks with the government.

Meanwhile, the union representing Ontario’s public high school teachers began holding strike votes on Tuesday, which are set to wrap up November 15, while the union representing Ontario’s Catholic school teachers will hold strike votes throughout November.

— with files from Global News’ Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Travis Dhanraj and the Canadian Press.