Elementary school teachers vote for strike action

Public school elementary teachers in the area have voted to take strike action.

Further information is included in the following news release issued this evening by the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario:

Elementary public school teachers, members of the Near North local of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action.

Ninety-one per cent of teachers attending a meeting tonight gave their union a mandate to take any and all action, including a full-withdrawal-of-services strike, to achieve their contract goals.

“Tonight, the teachers in Near North have told this board that the demands placed on elementary teachers are unrealistic, and something must be done about it at the local bargaining table,” said Emily Noble, ETFO president.

“We are growing impatient waiting for the board to take us seriously. Preparation time needs to be increased in this contract,” Noble said. Near North elementary teachers currently have 150 minutes of preparation time.

“My members will not settle for less preparation time than what Ottawa-Carleton teachers already have,” said Nancy Kilgour, president of the ETFO Near North Teacher Local.

“There is still time for the board to do its part and avoid the possibility of disruptive job action.”

The Near North Teacher Local represents 492 public elementary school teachers.

Their contract ended August 31, 2004. They plan to start working-to-rule in March if no agreement has been reached by then.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents 65,000 public elementary school teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest elementary federation in Canada outside of Quebec.