TORONTO, ON – November 28, 2019 — Teachers and education workers represented by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) will participate in a one-day, province-wide full withdrawal of services on Wednesday, December 4, if a new agreement is not reached before then.

The one-day strike will follow six days of information pickets and a limited withdrawal of administrative services that began November 26. The announcement of the walkout comes on the heels of two more frustrating days at the bargaining table, yesterday and today.

“This week we began a job action carefully devised to have no impact on students,” said OSSTF/FEESO President Harvey Bischof. “It’s clear from these past two days of bargaining, however, that our action is having no impact on the tone or substance of negotiations.”

“Through months of bargaining, the management team has avoided any meaningful discussion of class size, staffing, mandatory e-learning, or any other issue that impacts the quality of student learning,” Bischof said. “Even in light of our current job action, far too little has changed at the table. We are left with no choice but to intensify our efforts to defend our education system against a government that has already begun to sabotage it.”

“We do recognize that our one-day walkout will cause short-term disruption in the lives of students and parents, and we are disappointed that we’ve been driven to take this job action. We cannot, however, stand aside and do nothing while the long-term interests of students are being compromised by the Ford government,” concluded Bischof.