We Want Our Students Back To School

Durham District School Board to file Ontario Labour Relations Board Application with Peel and Rainbow District School Boards over Illegal Teachers' Strike

WHITBY, ON, May 12, 2015 /CNW/ - The Durham District School Board (DDSB) wants our students back in school as soon as possible.  With that goal in mind, today the DDSB, along with the Peel and Rainbow District School Boards, will file a joint application with the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) claiming that the current Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) strikes at these three boards are illegal.

The collective bargaining process with teachers has changed.  A number of major issues including compensation, class size restrictions and preparation time are negotiated at a "central" table involving OSSTF, the Province and the Ontario Public School Boards' Association.  In December 2014, all parties agreed which items would be discussed at the central table and which items would be discussed at the local tables.

Local issues are then negotiated directly between local school boards and the OSSTF. The local bargaining processes at different school boards operate independently of one another and local issues vary from board to board. 

The current strike by OSSTF District 13 at the DDBS is legally required to relate to the specific local issues that have been raised through local bargaining. It has become increasingly apparent through the language and action of the union leaders that these three strikes are related to the larger central issues and that OSSTF has put DDSB teachers on a local strike based on central issues.  That is not permitted under the new bargaining system.

The DDBS strongly believes, in light of this, that the current strikes are illegal.  Consequently, today the DDSB will file an illegal strike application with the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

It is our hope that this Application will result in a cease and desist order that will order OSSTF to discontinue these strikes, return teachers to their classrooms, return students to their classrooms, and respect the structure of the new bargaining legislation.

The Durham District School Board is responsible for public education in the rural settings of Uxbridge, Brock and Scugog Townships and the urban settings of Ajax, Whitby, Pickering and Oshawa. The Board employs 7,000 teaching and educational services staff. With 130 elementary and secondary schools and learning centres, the DDSB accommodates more than 68,000 regular day students and thousands more who take advantage of a wide variety of continuing education and adult credit courses. More information can be found on the DDSB's website at www.ddsb.ca. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @DurhamDSB and on YouTube at DurhamDSB.

SOURCE Durham District School Board

Media Contact: Andrea Pidwerbecki, Communications Manager, DDSB, [email protected] or 905 666 6313