Ontario’s education sector is a study in extreme disruption.

Teachers are engaged in work-to-rule campaigns and hitting picket lines as all four unions representing educators are embroiled in tense labour negotiations with Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government. Not since 1997 have the province’s teacher unions engaged in job action at the same time.

“While we’ve certainly had disagreements with other governments, I had no cause to doubt their commitment to Ontario’s publicly funded education system,” said union president Harvey Bischof of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation. “I absolutely doubt this government’s commitment to that system. The Minister of Education points the finger of blame at everyone but himself. The current situation tells the public that there is a common denominator in discord that we find in the education sector — and that is the destructive Ford education agenda.”

All four unions have been without a collective agreement since Aug. 31, and are engaged in work-to-rule campaigns. In what is shaping up to be a massive display of job action — not seen in more than two decades — three unions have scheduled one-day walkouts, staggered throughout the upcoming week, which means boards will shut schools.

“While parents are frustrated by teacher union escalation every few years, it is unacceptable that education sector unions would ramp up strike action at a time when high school students are preparing for exams, and make families across the province scramble for child care at the elementary level,” said Education Minister Stephen Lecce. “I will continue to focus on reaching voluntary agreements with the teachers’ unions, so Ontario students stay in class where they belong.”

Saying he recognizes the financial impact of union escalation on families, Lecce recently announced the government will repay parents for child-care costs — up to $60 per day, per student — during any work stoppage because of the strikes.

Unions say key issues include the government’s refusal to provide assurances it will keep the current full-day kindergarten program, and its plan to boost high school class size averages to 25 students — they’re currently about 22.5 — and introduce two mandatory online secondary courses.

But Lecce has said he won’t change all-day kindergarten, adding “My aim is to strengthen (it) over time,” and noting the government has made concessions because it originally proposed secondary class size averages of 28 and four online courses. The key issue, he maintains, is salary, with the province offering a 1 per cent increase in line with recent wage-cap legislation, while unions have said they want cost of living, or about 2 per cent.

University of Toronto professor Charles Pascal, a former deputy minister of education, believes the sticking point is larger class sizes.

“The burgeoning number of students along with the loss of many key courses required for students to apply for certain post-secondary programs is real, not hypothetical,” said Pascal, who teaches at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. “The education minister’s penchant for misinformation and disrespect for teachers and their leaders, isn’t helping matters. Trying to convince the public that teachers are greedy, that major compensation request is the issue attempts to distract from the class size and e-learning mess of his own making.”

PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO)

MEMBERSHIP: 83,000 public elementary teachers, occasional teachers, early childhood educators and education professionals.

KEY ISSUES: Smaller classes, more resources for students with special needs, protection of the kindergarten program, reduction of violent incidents and a salary increase to match inflation (about 2 per cent), particularly for early childhood educators, professional support staff and education support staff.

JOB ACTION: ETFO began an administrative work-to-rule on Nov. 26, meaning teachers would not participate in board or ministry professional development; provide comments on report cards or prepare students for provincial standardized tests. On Jan. 13, action was escalated with elementary school educators no longer participating in field trips or supervising extracurricular activities unless scheduled within the school day.

On Monday, members in Toronto, York Region and Ottawa-Carleton school boards will strike for the day so those boards will close elementary schools. Early childhood educators will be absent from Toronto’s Catholic schools, but classes there continue. During the rest of the week, rotating one-day strikes will take place in other school boards, resulting in school closures. On Tuesday, there will be a strike in Grand Erie, Trillium Lakelands, Renfrew and Superior-Greenstone; on Wednesday in Thames Valley, Rainbow and Rainy River; on Thursday in Avon Maitland, Halton, Niagara and Lakehead and on Friday in Bluewater and Ontario North East.

FUTURE ACTION: The union plans rotating strikes.

BARGAINING: No dates scheduled.

HOW FAR APART THEY ARE: “ETFO tabled revised proposals in late December on key issues including more support for students with special needs, class size and protection of the kindergarten program,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond. “The government has made no response and made no commitment to return to bargaining talks in 28 days. It is not that we are far apart. It’s that the government seems willing to talk only about cuts to education, including a $150 million cut to elementary education.”

PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF)

MEMBERSHIP: 60,000 members including high school teachers in public schools and support staff in public, Catholic and French-language elementary and secondary schools, such as psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists and social workers.

KEY ISSUES: The union wants the class average back to 22, is opposed to mandatory e-learning for high school students, wants a salary increase to match inflation (about 2 per cent), and to restore educator and support staff positions to 2018-19 numbers for the length of any contract.

JOB ACTION: OSSTF began an administrative work-to-rule on Nov. 26, meaning teachers would not participate in board or ministry professional development, provide comments on report cards or prepare students for provincial standardized tests. On Dec. 4, it held a one-day provincewide walkout and has since moved to weekly rotating strikes. On Monday, the union will ramp up its job action. For instance, teachers will not perform on-calls, and members won’t find a replacement or take on extra work if an employee is absent.

On Tuesday, a one-day strike is planned by members in the following boards: Toronto District, Rainy River, Near North District, Grand Erie, Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District, Simcoe County District, Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District, Trillium Lakelands District, Hastings and Prince Edward District. High schools in those public boards will be closed and all schools in those Catholic boards will be closed anyway because of the job action by OECTA. Select schools in the French public and Catholic boards are also impacted.

FUTURE ACTION: One-day strikes may resume after the high school exam period.

BARGAINING: No dates scheduled.

HOW FAR APART THEY ARE: “We are nowhere near reaching agreement as the government continues to insist on maintaining, and further deepening, the cuts to education quality that it has already begun to unilaterally impose,” said OSSTF President Harvey Bischof. “As a parent myself, I recognize that this causes some anxiety and disruption for students and families, but the damage if we allow Ford to continue to go down this destructive path will be far, far worse than what’s caused from individual days of action.”

CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA)

MEMBERSHIP: Represents 45,000 elementary and secondary teachers in publicly-funded English Catholic schools.

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KEY ISSUES: OECTA objects to a number of government’s cuts, including increased class sizes, mandatory e-learning, its failure to provide assurances that full-day kindergarten program will continue beyond this year and the elimination of the Local Priorities Fund, which provided services and supports for vulnerable students. OECTA won’t comment on specific proposals regarding salary.

JOB ACTION: OECTA began an administrative work-to-rule Jan. 13, meaning Catholic teachers will not provide comments on report cards or participate in activities related to provincial standardized tests and ministry initiatives, among other things.

On Tuesday, Ontario’s English Catholic elementary and secondary teachers will not report to work for the day, prompting boards to close schools. Daycare centres in Catholic schools should remain open.

FUTURE ACTION: No other one-day strikes planned.

BARGAINING: No dates scheduled.

HOW FAR APART THEY ARE: “We have made progress with the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association on a number of important issues, but the government’s negotiators have no mandate to reach an agreement without significant, permanent cuts,” said OECTA President Liz Stuart. “The conciliator has said we are too far apart to make bargaining worthwhile at this time. We hope the government will rethink their agenda and come back to the table ready to abandon their cuts.”

FRENCH SCHOOLS

Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO)

MEMBERSHIP: 12,000 members including French-language elementary and high school teachers in Ontario’s Catholic and public school boards.

KEY ISSUES: The government’s proposal of mandatory e-learning for high school students, increased class sizes and decreased course options. AEFO also wants a salary increase to match inflation (about 2 per cent).

JOB ACTION: AEFO began administrative work-to-rule Jan. 16, meaning teachers will not implement ministry or school board initiatives, participate in professional training or administer standardized tests.

COMING DAYS: No decisions made, but all options are on the table.

FUTURE ACTION: Will depend on how negotiations go.

BARGAINING: Jan. 29 and 30.

HOW FAR APART THEY ARE: “AEFO cannot provide details on negotiations at the table, but what we can say is that the success of students is non-negotiable,” said AEFO President Rémi Sabourin. “The Ford government sees education as an expense, but AEFO teachers will tell you it’s an investment … Strike action may have an impact on the daily life of students and their families. But AEFO must share responsibility for the decisions taken at the negotiating table and cannot agree to participate in the deterioration of the education system.”

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT SAYS

The Ministry of Education, along with the trustees’ associations, is responsible for central negotiations with all four unions. Since 1997, the province has controlled the purse strings when it comes to funding education — before that negotiations were done locally, so teachers’ unions negotiated directly with school boards because they controlled the money.

In 1997, the Conservative government of Mike Harris introduced massive education reforms in Bill 160, which included centralized school funding and removing principals and vice-principals from unions. That prompted the province’s teachers to walk off the job for two weeks, despite not being in a legal strike position. About 126,000 teachers hit the picket lines, making it the largest teacher strike in Canadian history. The job action in the next few days will be the largest since 1997.

Speaking with reporters Wednesday, Lecce said, “We have made clear through the mediator for all the parties that we stand ready to return to continue bargaining in good faith … We have announced new changes that I think demonstrate that we’re moving in the right direction when it comes to trying to be reasonable.”

WHAT HAPPENED WITH CUPE

In October, the province reached a deal with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents 55,000 support staff, including caretakers, educational assistants, early childhood educators and office staff. The deal was reached hours before CUPE members were set to walk off the job, which would have resulted in many boards shutting schools. The deal included a 1 per cent wage increase in each year of the three-year deal.