“This has been a very prolonged and difficult bargaining process,” ETFO president Sam Hammond said in a statement. 

Elementary teachers are hitting the picket lines en masse in Ontario today in their second province-wide strike to put pressure on the government in contract talks.

Public elementary teachers are on strike at several Ontario boards today including the largest one, in Toronto.

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board has a one-day strike scheduled for Feb. 5, and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario is planning a provincewide strike on Feb. 6.

It's the fifth day of rotating, one-day strikes by members of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, and they're also set to continue into next week.

The union representing Ontario's elementary school teachers says it will spend the next two months holding member meetings and gauging the possibility of a general strike.

As of Wednesday morning, 176 elementary and 193 secondary teachers were told that they will no longer have permanent positions after Aug. 31, said a spokesperson for Peel District School Board (PDSB) to Global News.

The Tories have said teachers will use a version of the curriculum developed in 1998 as the government carries out public consultations for a new document.

Elementary teachers in Ontario have ratified a contract extension that gives them raises, caps kindergarten class sizes and gives the government labour peace.

Ontario's 78,000 elementary school teachers have voted to ratify a new central agreement with the provincial government.