Elementary schools to close 2 days next week as teachers ramp up job action

Students in Ontario's English public elementary schools will have not one but two days offnext week as their teachers' union steps up rotating strikes to exert pressure on the province.

For elementary students with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, classes will be cancelled nextWednesday and Thursday if no deal is reached.

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has released a list of six issues it wants resolved at the bargaining table in order to reach a deal by Friday,including special education funding, classroom violence and class sizes.

Bargaining is scheduled for Wednesday, according to the province.

If those issues aren't resolved, ETFO says its 83,000 members will walk off the job next Thursday, Feb. 6, for a province-wide strike, in addition to one-day rotating strikes that will affect different regions on different days.

• Mon., Feb. 3: The Renfrew County District School Board.
• Tue., Feb, 4: The Belleville-area Hastings-Prince Edward District School Board.
• Wed., Feb. 5: The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and Upper Canada District School Board.
• Fri., Feb. 7: The Kingston-area Limestone District School Board.

This means English public elementary school students are poised to have two days off in a row in Ottawa and much of the surrounding area,and four days off in a row(includesa weekend) in Kingston.

• Elementary teachers' union begins 2nd week of rotating strikes, says more on the way

The school boards have not yet released their plans next week for child-care or community programs.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce has repeatedly said the key sticking point in negotiations with high school teachers is compensation, with the union demanding a roughly two per cent wage increase and the government offering one per cent.

Strikes this week

TheHastings and Prince Edward District School Board's ETFO members are planning to strike this Tuesday, affecting students from kindergarten to Grade 8.

Parents are asked to check with child-care providers about their status.

The Limestone District School Board (LDSB) and the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) that its members plan to walk off the job this Wednesday.

• Strike to close elementary schools in Upper Canada, Limestone boards Wednesday

Both boardssay there will be no classes or transportation for students in kindergarten to Grade 8 that day if there's no progress at the bargaining table.

Secondary schools in both school districts will remain open.

What about other unions?

Tuesday the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) said it would hold a provincewide strike Feb. 4.

The OntarioSecondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) andAssociation des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens(AEFO) have not announced plans for more strikes.

Teachers at French-language schools represented by AEFOare escalating job action as of Tuesday, saying it will be mostly administrative duties affected.