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Ontario Teachers Strike - Oakville's Perspective

Nolan Machan
Ontario Teachers Strike | Unsplash
Ontario Teachers Strike | Unsplash

Last week was a busy time for all three Ontario Teachers' Unions. On Tuesday, January 21st the Catholic Teachers for both elementary and secondary schools walked out across the province for one day, and the Ontario Secondary Secondary School Teachers Federation walked out that impacted several school boards. The Elementary Teachers walked out on Thursday January 23rd, and that closed all the Halton District School Board elementary schools.

During the past week, OakvilleNews.Org released two stories about the walk-outs as a heads up for parents. Also, we asked our followers on Facebook and Twitter to respond to a question.

Do you support the Minister of Education's handling of Labour Negotiations with the three teachers union? 

Response

  • 328 people responded to the poll.
  • 65% of the voters do not support the way the Minister is handling the negotiation
  • 35% do support the Minister.

The discussion that followed on the OakvilleNews.Org Facebook Page was extensive, and ranged dramatically with over 50 comments. Since the interest and discussion was so strong we followed up with a second question.

Do  you support the 3 teachers' unions? 

Response

  • 247 people responded to this question.
  • 61% support the teachers
  • 39% do not support the teachers

Four people want the province to make education an essential service, which would prohibit the teachers from striking.

This aligns with the general position of the Ontario population according to the fourth Environics Research poll that was commissioned by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation and released on January 21, 2020. The polling numbers indicate that support for Ontario Teachers is increasing.

Why are the teachers striking?

According to the ETFO, the teachers are asking for:

  1. Cancellation of the cuts and restoration of staffing levels and class size averages to 2018–19 levels;
  2. A hold on introducing mandatory e-learning until a study can be conducted with public participation;
  3. A commitment at the bargaining table to keeping the current model for Kindergarten, which includes a teacher and early childhood educator, intact;
  4. A cost-of-living increase to keep up with rising food, energy, and housing prices.

Each union has slightly different reasons.

Ontario Teachers Unions

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