Strike? Huh? A Little Bill 115 Clarity....

This past fall has been one of unbelievable stress for teachers who take their profession seriously, and as the media warns of possible teacher strikes in the weeks ahead, that stress is spreading to parents, too, as working families struggle to find emergency daycare for their children.

With mixed messages in the media, questions abound.  Happily, People for Education provides some clarity.  I rec'd the following text in an email from my children's school council rep this morning:

What is Bill 115, and why are teachers upset about it?
The new education law – which will be in effect for at least the next two years – isn’t just about wage freezes (which some teachers’ federations already agreed to). It gives the province the power to impose agreements on school board staff, and grants the Minister of Education the power to take away many of the usual avenues in the bargaining process,  such as the right to strike, seek arbitration or appeal to the Labour Relations Board.


How many boards have settled with their teachers?
So far, only one board ? the Upper Grand District School Board ? has ratified (negotiated and voted on) a settlement with its high school teachers. No other boards in the province ? English, Catholic or French ? have reached ratified agreements with their teachers.


What's going to happen next?
There are three possible scenarios:
 *   All the public boards have one-day strikes and then the Minister legislates them all back to work
 *   The Minister preemptively bans the right to strike before the strikes happen
     (a power she has under the new law).
 *   The Minister allows a variety of local job actions through the first three weeks of December and then, 
     on December 31 - as allowed under the new law - imposes contracts on the province's public,
     Catholic and French school boards and employees.

For more information, please visit People for Education's website by clicking here.