By N. Zahra
Teachers protest violation of collective bargaining rights. (Photo credit: Michael Swan )
This month, the Ontario Liberal Government intends to introduce the Putting Students First Act 2012, in order to “provide certainty for students and families that the school year will start as scheduled and will not be interrupted at any time by labour disruptions.” The government’s claims are false.As with other labour disputes, the Liberal government is preemptively choking the right of workers to strike or undertake any political action in order to uphold existing agreements or to ask for changes that would benefit students and education workers. According to ETFO president, Sam Hammond, any claim that the government is making about teachers planning to start the school year with a strike is completely false. As with other public sector employees, the government is trying to malign teachers by claiming that they are not doing their part to combat austerity and take a hit for the team.
The proposed deal being put forward by the Ontario Government includes a reduction in sick days, a two year pay freeze, and unpaid professional development days, where teachers would go to work without being paid. The Province claims that taking unpaid professional activity days somehow benefits young teachers by continuing “to move [them] through the grid according to their experience and additional qualifications.” As a young teacher, not getting paid for days worked and also having a two year pay freeze will not benefit me or my family. All it will do is ensure that my pay does not match my living costs in the coming years. Shame on the provincial government for trampling on workers’ basic rights!
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