Teachers scrap strike after Labour Board rules ETFO protest ‘unlawful’
Posted Jan 11, 2013 04:10:05 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has cancelled its one-day protest planned for Friday morning after a Ontario Labour Relations Board ruling overnight that deemed it “unlawful.”
“We respect the OLRB’s decision and will comply fully with the ruling,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond in a statement.
Members of the ETFO had planned to stage a one-day “political protest” across the province on Friday, shutting down all 474 Toronto District School Board elementary and junior high schools. Other Ontario public boards also have said elementary schools will be closed for the protest day.
It is not clear at this time whether schools will now open Friday.
“We did not believe this to be an illegal strike based on past political protests directed at the government. We respect the provisions of the Ontario Labour Relations Act – something we have requested the minister and the government to do for almost a year.”
He later added: “In this instance, the OLRB has provided direction and we will abide by that. However, we still have a situation where the terms and conditions of our members’ employment have been dictated through a disgraceful misuse of government power. It cannot be business as usual in the education sector.”
Premier Dalton McGuinty brought the issue to the Board, seeking to stop what he called the “illegal strike activity” but the union calls it a “political protest” and says it’s permitted under the Charter.
Under Ontario’s labour laws, engaging in illegal strike activity can carry a penalty of up to $2,000 per person and $25,000 for a trade union.
Education minister Laurel Broten said she was “very pleased” by the ruling.
“This is a very important ruling for parents, students and teachers. We expect teachers to be in their classrooms this morning to continue the important work they do every day,” she said in a statement.
“We have a ruling that confirms that the action counselled by ETFO was in fact illegal, as we have said it was all along. Now teachers understand from the Ontario Labour Relations Board that what they were being asked to do by their union was to break the law. Teachers are law abiding and now that they know the facts, I know that they will report to work this morning.”
More to come
