Elementary school teachers walk off the job

(BELLEVILLE) 11-12-2012 – Teachers took to the streets outside of Prince Charles Public School in Belleville to protest Bill 115 in a board wide one-day walkout. Photo by Keenan Weaver

By Tyson Leonard

With files from Sean Macey and Marc Venema.

Elementary school students have the day off today as teachers hold a one-day strike to protest Bill 115.

The local elementary teachers union held the strike today as part of a series of rotating strikes across the province.

The local Hastings-Prince Edward elementary teachers union belongs to the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario. The local represents 640 teachers and 43 occasional teachers. The HPEDSB encompasses 42 elementary, and eight secondary schools with a student population of approximately 16,000 students.

Strike actions are being held at various elementary schools today, but most protesters converged on the school board’s Education Centre.

Karen Dinsmore, a teacher at Queen Victoria School in Belleville, said she is striking to protect the working rights for herself and future generations.

“This is a vital issue to our community and to all workers in Ontario. This is not just about teachers and it is most definitely not about the money. This is about our rights,” said Dinsmore.

Dinsmore said she hopes the strike will raise awareness in the community about Bill 115.

Bill 115, titled the “Putting Students First Act”, is an amendment to the Education Act. It was passed in a vote of 85 to 15 with only the NDP opposing the bill. The bill took effect after being given royal assent on September 11, 2012, but collective bargaining will take place up until December 31, 2012.

Bill 115 gives the Ontario government the ability to impose contracts on teachers’ unions during the 2012/2013, and 2013/2014 school years. This essentially prevents teachers unions from participating in the collective bargaining process. The bill also prevents any salary increases during the next two years, and cuts the number of sick days from 20 to 10, which can no longer be accumulated.

Karen Fisk, the president of the local elementary teachers union, said the strike is meant to be educational for the community.

“Hopefully people will realize that this cannot be trivialized as a matter of a pay disagreement or a wage freeze, its far more serious than that,” said Fisk.

Fisk said Bill 115 needs to be repealed immediately.

“Bill 115 is extremely draconian in what it does. It strips our democratic rights, particularly collective bargaining, and so that’s why we’re taking this drastic step today, because we are so angry and upset about this,” said Fisk.

Fisk said work to rule protocol will continue until there is a change in negotiations. This means extracurricular activities are indefinitely cancelled. Fisk also said more strikes are a possibility.

It wasn’t just teachers, and their friends, and families out striking today. Members of the local Canadian Union of Public Employees were also protesting Bill 115.

“Bill 115 in the media has been really presented as a teachers bill, and an attack on teachers wages, but it couldn’t be any further from the truth. The bill is not just about wages. It’s an attack on our charter rights in the form of collective bargaining, and it’s about all education workers,” said Laura Walton, an executive with CUPE local 1022, which represents supports workers employed with the HPEDSB.

Walton said CUPE is 100 per cent behind the ETFO.

“Nobody wants to be striking on a cold winter day, but we are talking about something that is going to be affecting my children, you can’t start messing with charter rights and expect people not to respond,” said Walton.

Parents affected by the strike seem to be both supportive of, and angered by the strike.

The local YMCA was close to capacity today with students whose parents couldn’t, or didn’t take the day off work.

Steve Gledhill was there with his son.

“As much as we want to support the teachers and such, we feel like something like this is at the expense of the children,” said Gledhill.

Jason Worth was also at the YMCA with his kids.

“Everyone is entitled to fair bargaining, so I’m all for it. If they want to do a one day rolling strike there’s no problem with that,” said Worth.

Until December 31, more actions such as the current one-day rotating strikes are likely.