ETFO Ottawa-Carleton locals to stage one-day strike on Wednesday December 12

TORONTO, Dec. 9, 2012 /CNW/ - ETFO Ottawa-Carleton teachers and occasional teachers will stage a one-day strike this Wednesday December 12^th to send the government a message that Bill 115 is severely impeding local collective bargaining.

"There are two solutions to the chaos that the minister of education has created," said Sam Hammond, President of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario. "Along with repealing Bill 115, the minister needs to step aside and give locals the latitude to have concrete and respectful discussions with all options on the table, in order to reach collective agreements."

"The minister needs to rethink her approach to local bargaining because of the limitations we are working under to reach an agreement," said Peter Giuliani, president of the Ottawa-Carleton Teacher Local. "Her ham-fisted approach has forced us into a strike in order to try and find a way to move forward."

"The lack of local autonomy has caused enormous frustration for our local and the board during these negotiations," added David Wildman, President of the Ottawa-Carleton Occasional Teacher Local.

Both locals moved into a legal strike position on December 3. They received no board reports through the conciliator appointed by the Ministry of Labour to resolve their bargaining impasse with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.  During a vote on September 24, 2012, both locals received overwhelming mandates for strike action from their members. 

Fast Facts:

ETFO is the professional and protective organization representing over 76,000 teachers, occasional teachers, and education professionals employed in the public elementary schools of Ontario.

ETFO Ottawa-Carleton Teacher Local represents 3,295 elementary teachers employed by Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Ottawa-Carleton Occasional Teacher Local represents 943 Occasional Teachers.

Collective agreements for all ETFO locals expired on August 31, 2012.  Since then, ETFO members have been working without collective agreements in place.

 

SOURCE: Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario

Peter Giuliani, Ottawa-Carleton Teacher Local President, 613-850-9182, [email protected]
David Wildman, Ottawa-Carleton Occasional Teacher Local President, 613-292-6007, [email protected]