On September 11th, the Ontario Liberal government passed Bill 115: An Act to implement restraint measures in the education sector (the so-called "Putting Students First Act"). This act imposes the terms of the OECTA memorandum of understanding on the entire education sector.
The bill eliminates our right to strike, allows the Minister of Education to unilaterally set the terms of our collective agreement, and among other things eliminates the ability of the Ontario Labour Relations Board and arbitrators to make rulings on whether Bill 115 is constitutional or violates the Ontario Human Rights Code. It also states that nothing under Bill 115 "shall be questioned or reviewed in any court."
Clearly, this is not the type of legislation we expect to see arising in a free democratic country like Canada. ETFO has already launched a legal challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and a variety of escalating actions will be happening this year in response. Please monitor this web site for more information, sign up for our e-mail lists, and visit controlyourfuture.ca.
There will be a protest this Friday September 14th at 4:00pm outside the offices of Jim Bradley and Tim Hudak.
McGuinty Mondays
ETFO is asking teachers to "take a pause" every Monday by refraining from providing their employers with any voluntary work, and leaving/arriving to work no longer the 30 minutes before/after the school day. For occasional teachers, our challenge will be to not allow ourselves to get stuck filling in for the activities/services our full-time colleagues are refraining from providing.
Please express your outrage by sending a message to your MPP.
