The Ontario government is attempting to close an ugly round of bargaining as it restarts talks with the only remaining teachers' union without a contract, and an expert says the COVID-19 pandemic may create a path to labour peace.

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario is set to resume contract talks with Premier Doug Ford's government today.

In previous talks earlier this year, ETFO said it was close to an agreement on several key issues, but that the government negotiators changed positions at the last minute.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation says it will make the move to minimize the disruption to student activities scheduled during March break.

High school teachers are off the job today at more than a dozen Ontario boards as part of their union's campaign of rotating one-day strikes.

Next Thursday's strike would come nearly two weeks after a provincewide walkout involving nearly 200,000 teachers from all four of the province's major education labour groups. It was the largest such strike in more than 20 years.

Ontario's education minister says the province's Catholic teachers have increased what they are asking for in contract talks on benefits.

Roughly 20,000 teachers and education workers picketed along a 30 km stretch in Peel Region Friday in what that the unions call the longest picket line ever in the region.

"This is a demonstration of unity. It's a demonstration that we're not divided from our members or from the public in this province," OSSTF president Harvey Bischof said.

The unions say as many as 30,000 people will attend.