John Paul II Catholic Secondary School teachers walking between the two entrances of the school.
Contract talks between the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA) and the provincial government ended in a stalemate late on Monday. The result: the second province-wide strike for Catholic school teachers.
“We’re still united in what we’re doing. We’re still confident that we’re doing the right thing,” said Rick Pudelek, a strike captain for John Paul ll Catholic Secondary School.
JP II and every other London high school are seeing job action from their staff on Tuesday. No public or Catholic school student is in class in London. Thames Valley high schools and elementary schools are both closed because of rotating strikes. All Catholic schools in the province are on strike.
At John Paul ll Catholic Secondary School where staff are picketing for the second time in two weeks. This is part of a province-wide strike for Catholic school teachers.
Picketers are walking between the two school entrances on Oxford and Highbury pic.twitter.com/bESTPZ7fBo
— Greg Bowman (@gregbowman_) February 4, 2020
The demands from teachers, particularly in high schools have remained the same. They want a cap on class sizes and elimination of the newly-mandatory online courses for students. With the second semester of high schools just beginning, teachers are already seeing the impacts in classes.
Rick Pudelek is one of the strike captains for John Paul II Catholic Secondary School on the corner of Highbury/Oxford St.
“Yesterday we had classes with 32, 33 [students],” explains Pudelek. “But those could balloon to 38, 39, maybe 40 if we don’t maintain these caps on class sizes.”
And for E-learning, Pudelek and other high school teachers do not see it panning out. “[Teenagers] are social beasts. They want to be around their friends…online learning doesn’t lend itself to that. They learn by talking to people, sharing ideas. Not sitting on a computer going through dull curriculums.”
The province has condemned the multiple teachers’ unions and their respective job action. The Ministry of Education was contacted for a comment, but forwarded a statement:
“We continue to stand up against the withdrawal of services to students across the province. Teachers’ union leaders broke their promise to not adversely impact student learning by withdrawing services for our kids, including EQAO math testing, report cards, and extracurriculars. Our aim has always been to reach a negotiated settlement that keeps kids in class, which we have done successfully with multiple labour partners to date. We recognize the impact of union escalation on families is real. That’s why our government launched its Support for Parents initiative that puts money directly into the pockets of parents. The immense uptake of our Support for Parents initiative speaks volumes to the level of uncertainty union-led strike action causes.”
A box of hand-warmers out in front of John Paul II Catholic Secondary School for picketers.
The job action is going to continue for all unions until contract agreements are made. The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has announced that they will now run twice-weekly rotating strikes. Tuesday’s rotating strike that closed Thames Valley’s elementary schools will be followed by province-wide job action on Feb. 6.
The ETFO’s contract talks fell through on Friday, with the OECTA’s ending on Monday. Neither board is expecting to return to the bargaining table until a mediator calls for it.
