Elementary Supply Teachers Preparing To Walk Out

April 24, 2006

Public elementary substitute teachers, members of the Durham Occasional Teacher Local, Near North Occasional Teacher Local and the Trillium Lakelands Occasional Teacher Local of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), are set to walk off the job beginning the week of May 8, 2006 unless new contracts are reached.

Work-to-rule has been imposed against the Near North Board and occasional teachers in Durham and Trillium Lakelands began similar actions this morning.

“Twenty-eight boards have signed pattern agreements but the remaining three want to bargain salary and working conditions that are totally out of sync with the others and that is simply not going to happen. Occasional teachers are professionals who play a vital role on the larger education team and every one of them deserves to be paid a decent wage. The current offers are insulting.  It is time that these boards viewed substitute teachers as true professionals and accorded them improved working conditions that match their worth,” said Emily Noble, ETFO President.

“Our teachers in all of these locals are prepared and ready to support their occasional teacher colleagues. All three boards have been ‘pink listed’ and that will make it difficult to hire and plan for next year.  Curriculum will be difficult to deliver at schools where there are no long-term occasional teachers available for the balance of the year.

“If the Ministry of Education wants to know why there will be no peace and stability in Ontario I think they should speak with the boards because I can’t figure out their positions and I’m not sure if they have any rationale either,” Noble said.

The Durham Occasional Teacher Local represents 800 public elementary occasional teachers. The Near North Occasional Teacher Local represents 275 public elementary occasional teachers. The Trillium Lakelands Occasional Teacher Local represents 380 public elementary occasional teachers. Their contracts ended August 31, 2004.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents 70,000 public elementary teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest teacher federation in Canada outside of Quebec.