Elementary teachers eye strike vote

Ontario’s largest teachers’ union says the province’s public elementary school teachers could be on strike by the end of March.

Union spokesperson David Clegg is threatening a strike vote if “significant progress” isn’t made in contract talks with school boards by Feb. 13.

Clegg says that could put the province’s 73,000 public school elementary teachers in a strike position by the end of March. 

The teachers have been without a contract since August and a December deadline to achieve a deal has come and gone.

The teachers were offered a 12 per cent raise over four years, but that was trimmed to four per cent over two years once the deadline passed.

Education Minister Kathleen Wynne has said the province can’t afford to boost the offer in these economic times.

January 8, 2009  Toronto Star  thestar.com