Halton District School Board high school teachers could strike or be locked out as early as April 18.
The public school board posted an update to labour talks with its secondary teachers on its website today.
The open letter to parents and guardians says that although negotiations continue between the parties at the local and provincial levels, an imminent strike-lockout scenario is possible.
In the letter to parents, signed by both Education Director David Euale and Board Chair Kelly Amos, the board states that the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) District 20 Halton requested that a provincial conciliator attend the March 25 local negotiations meeting.
It was at this time, says the board, the teachers’ union asked for the issuance of a no-board report. A no-board report allows negotiations to continue but starts a countdown to job sanctions by the union, or a lockout by management, 17 days after the issuance of the report.
The countdown began April 1.
The Post was unable to reach representatives of the OSSTF Halton chapter for comment late Thursday afternoon.
However, in March, OSSTF provincial vice-president Harvey Bischof said, “The movement has been exceptionally slow so we are increasing pressure to try and get the employer to sit down and talk with us…. (Our) members are frustrated that we are even still at the central (provincial) table and seemingly far from an agreement there, too,” he said.
In its letter to parents the Halton board stated, “In most cases strikes happen when parties have reached an impasse. That is not the case locally as negotiations are continuing regardless of the no-board report. Negotiation dates are set throughout April and May.
“We are hopeful those dates combined with the excellent working relationship Halton has with its secondary teachers will produce a settlement and avoid an interruption to education. However, our secondary teachers now have the legal authority to initiate a strike as early as April 18, should they consider progress is not satisfactory.
“The Halton District School Board will make every attempt to keep parents and students informed of progress or the potential of a disruption to education, and will update information to our website (www.hdsb.ca) as the situation changes,” the letter states.
Local negotiations with Halton’s secondary teachers began in early February, days after local bargaining was directed to begin, with two meetings held prior to the March break. The talks continued after March break.
Under the Labour Relations Act, any party involved in bargaining can apply for conciliation to assist in negotiations. The provincial OSSTF requested conciliation in seven public school boards, including Halton, shortly after the March break.
OSSTF District 20 Halton represents more than 2,000 education workers including about 1,200 high school teachers, as well as professional student support services personnel, office, clerical and technical staff.
The Halton public high school teachers have been without a contract since August 2014. They are joined by teachers in Durham, Lakehead, Ottawa-Carleton, Peel, Rainbow and Waterloo districts.
Negotiations with teachers and educational support staff are being conducted in a different format this year due to a change in provincial legislation.
The talks are two-tiered with provincial and local bargaining happening simultaneously. Provincially, management is represented by the provincial trustee association and the provincial government while labour is represented by the provincial unions.
Major issues such as pay and benefits are discussed at the provincial level while staffing or grievance procedures are bargained locally.
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Detail Link :
http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/5550562-halton-high-school-teachers-in-strike-lockout-position-april-18/