Public school teachers are holding a rally outside the offices of the Greater Essex County District School Board today calling for trustees to speak up about the labour dispute between teachers unions and the provincial government.
"OPSBA (The Ontario Public School Boards' Association) and the government have not changed their position at all or negotiated in any meaningful way since February," says Adelina Cecchin, president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario Greater Essex Teacher local.
The union says the government wants changes in the contract that will allow increases in class size, have preparation time directed by school administrators, and compromise teacher working conditions and student learning conditions. "We are rallying to ask our trustees to speak up against the OPSBA contract strips and to put pressure on the provincial government to support small class sizes and learning conditions for all students," says Cecchin.
The rally starts at 3:30pm and at 4:30pm, Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky is expected to speak to the crowd.
The demonstration will also include speakers from local education sectors including ETFO, the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation.
