Why are the teachers going on strike?

How do parents get compensated?

What does each teachers’ union want?

What do the students think?

What do the parents think?

What has happened in past teachers’ job actions?

BACKGROUND

Why are the teachers going on strike?

Premier Doug Ford said Thursday that the government will not offer teachers’ unions a raise of more than one per cent yearly. This is about half what they are seeking.

The unions vow to fight legislation capping the wage settlements for hundreds of thousands of teachers, nurses, professors, bureaucrats, and numerous other public service employees at one per cent annually for the next three years.

The province is also looking to boost class sizes in secondary schools from last year’s average of 22 to 25, down from its original plan of jumping to 28 over four years.

This is a move that would phase out thousands of teaching jobs and tens of thousands of course options for teens.

The government would mandate two online courses for teens, not four. Such classes are optional now, and there is no jurisdiction in North America that has such a requirement.

An Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario memo, obtained by the Star, says no contract talks are scheduled.

It says the “critical issues” it wants the province to address include smaller classes, better supports for special needs students, a commitment to full-day kindergarten, and compensation.

How do parents get compensated for daycare costs?

The province has pledged to reimburse parents for any child-care costs incurred during the Ontario teachers’ strikes. Parents have to register online to receive compensation. No receipts are required for the payouts.

Depending on the child, parents are eligible to receive up to $60 per day. Click here for details on who’s eligible for compensation and how to apply for funds.

As of 9 a.m. Thursday, the government has received 33,000 applications for funding.

Ford’s government has already announced it will spend up to $48 million per day to repay parents for child-care costs during any work stoppage from teacher strikes.

The daily subsidies of up to $60 per child will be funded by savings from teacher salaries during the walkouts.

What does each teachers’ union want?

Not since 1997 have the province’s teacher unions engaged in job action at the same time.

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With all four unions representing educators embroiled in tense labour negotiations with Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, click here to read what each union is seeking and what the province is offering.

What do the students think?

Teachers say they are on job action to help ensure the quality of students’ edication. But as the unions and province continue their standoff, has anyone checked to see if the kids are all right? Click here to see what some students told the Star.

The 2019-20 academic year for Ontario students has been disrupted by labour disruption. This includes the first teacher walkout in the province since 1997. Here’s everything you need to know about the job action and the issues driving it.

What do the parents think?

Parents joined Toronto public elementary teachers on the picket lines Monday. Click here to see what some of them had to say.

What does each teachers’ union want?

Not since 1997 have the province’s teacher unions engaged in job action at the same time.

With all four unions representing educators embroiled in tense labour negotiations with Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government, click here to read what each union is seeking and what the province is offering.

What’s happened in the past?

Until last December, there hadn’t been a full-blown strike or lockout involving Ontario’s secondary school teachers since 1997.

There have been targeted job actions, such as work-to-rule campaigns that eliminated extracurriculars, but no full-fledged, full-scale walkouts.

Ontario school job actions going back more than two decades are set out in the timeline this link provides.

Adrienne Plumley was a Grade 10 student when Ontario’s educators walked off the job for two weeks, making it the largest work stoppage in Canadian history.

Now she’s on the picket line as a teacher giving her a unique perspective on the labour situation. Click here to read her story.

What do you want to know about Ontario teacher strikes? Tension between Ontario teachers and the government are leading unions to take job action for the first time in 20 years. Send your questions to social@torstar.ca and we’ll answer them in a future story

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