As Premier Doug Ford expresses hope the Progressive Conservatives can “get a deal done” with education unions, elementary and Catholic teachers are escalating strike action.

Starting Monday, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario’s (ETFO) 83,000 members will stop supervising students’ extracurricular activities, such as after-school sports teams and music and theatre programs, and no longer conduct field trips.

Hours after ETFO’s announcement Thursday, the 45,000-member Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) announced contract talks with the government and the school boards had broken off after only one day of bargaining.

OECTA president Liz Stuart said “the government has been firm that they have no intention of reconsidering their reckless, unpopular cuts.”

That has triggered job action in all Catholic schools from Kindergarten to Grade 12 starting Monday with teachers refusing to complete report cards or participate in preparation for EQAO standardized tests.

In public elementary schools that day, ETFO members will be working to rule, meaning teachers won’t arrive at schools earlier than 30 minutes before the start of the instructional day and will leave within 15 minutes of the afternoon bell being rung.

If that pressure on Ford’s government does not work, the primary teachers will begin their first rotating strikes across Ontario on Jan. 20.

That would force hundred of thousands of parents to make alternate child-care arrangements that day.

The elementary and Catholic teachers join the 60,000-member Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), which held its latest strike in Peel and other boards on Wednesday, in ramping up action against Queen’s Park.

ETFO president Sam Hammond said Thursday that during the six months of contract talks the Tories appear hell-bent on “a $150 million cut to public elementary education.”

“That’s why there has been negligible progress on substantive issues like supports for special education, protecting the (full-day) kindergarten model, addressing classroom-based violence, and compensation that keeps up with the cost of inflation,” said Hammond.

“This government’s approach to education-sector contract talks is a sham. The government representatives have confirmed that they have no mandate to negotiate issues beyond cuts,” he said.

“Contract talks are not being helped by Ford’s Education Minister Stephen Lecce making public announcements that misrepresent what his team is doing at the bargaining table. The disconnect is so great that we’re left shaking our heads.”

Mindful of the inconvenience to families, Hammond stressed “we have not made this decision lightly…we have no other choice.”

His comments came as the premier sounded hopeful further province-wide strikes could be avoided.

“We’ve signed three deals with other unions, and then we’re sitting back thinking, ‘OK, if it’s good enough for CUPE and other unions, why isn’t it good enough for the certain teachers unions?’ Ford told CP24’s Stephanie Smyth in an interview.

“I differentiate between (front-line teachers) and the heads of the unions. For 30 years, they want to fight with any government, any premier,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate, but we’ll get a deal done and it’ll be beneficial for the students.”

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But OSSTF president Harvey Bischof said the ball is in Ford’s court.

“If the premier wants to get a deal he needs to listen to the parents, who the government did its own consultation with,” Bischof told the Star.

“They told them they’re not interested in larger class sizes, they want their children to have access to supports that education workers provide, they want caps on maximum class sizes and they’re not interested in mandatory e-learning,” he said.

“The path to a deal runs precisely through the things that parents told them.”

OECTA has been in legal strike position for the past three weeks and teachers at the province’s French language schools recently voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike.

The education minister blamed the unions for the crisis.

“Parents are justifiably frustrated that teacher unions escalate every few years,” said Lecce.

“That is why we are calling on the union to cease from escalating, stay at the table, and focus on reaching a deal that provides stability for our students,” he said.

“It’s time for union leaders to end the games and the cyclical experience of escalation that hurts Ontario students.”

Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1

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