Rolling strikes hit Haldimand schools in one-day closure: Funding available to cover daycare costs during strikes

By Kaitlyn Clark

The Haldimand Press

HALDIMAND—With no agreement being made between education unions and the provincial government, members of both the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) and Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) are participating in rolling one-day strikes across the province. Haldimand schools were closed on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 as local educators participated in a full withdrawal of services and hit the streets to picket.

“It is clear to OSSTF members that, for this Premier and this Minister of Education, questions about student learning and the quality of education are not even on the radar,” said OSSTF President Harvey Bischof. “If the government wants to prove us wrong about that, they will abandon their destructive agenda, return to the table, and work with us to reach a deal that is good for the province’s students.”

Bischof reiterated that their offer to postpone future strikes in exchange for returning to and maintaining class size ratios and staffing levels from the 2018-19 school year remains in place. This offer had not been accepted as of press time. However, the rolling secondary strikes will end for upcoming exams.

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“Throughout this dispute we have made every effort to ensure that our job actions create minimal disruption for students,” said Bischof. “With that objective in mind, OSSTF members will not engage in any work disruptions through the crucial exam period.”