Outaouais schools close as rotating teacher, staff strikes hit region

Classes are cancelled and childcare has been called off this morning in schools across the Outaouais as part of rotating strikes involving teachers and support staffacross Quebec.

French-languageschools that belong tothe Commission scolaire des Portages-de-l'Outaouais (CSPO) andCommission scolaire des Draveurs will be closed today,when support staff walk the picket line, and Wednesdaywhen teachers take their turn.

Meanwhile, about 8,000 students inthe English-language West Qubec School Board will also have the day offas teachers strikeMonday.

The board's support staff will be takingto the picket lines on Nov. 4, meaning no classes again.

The unions have agreed not to cross each other's picket lines, which is why classes and childcare areset to be cancelled both days.

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Quebec's teachers have been without a contract since April. Teachers' unionsare coordinating strike dates from now until mid-Decemberas contract negotiations with the provincial government continue to stall.

Points of contention include anincrease tothe teacher-student ratio in the province's classrooms and loweringsupport services for students with special needs.

"In the last decade we've made gains on class sizes, particularly at the elementary level, where we were able to reduce class sizes by one or two [students]," said Rafi Khan, chairpersonof the Western Quebec Teachers' Association.

"Unfortunately the government has looked back at that and says class sizes have not made an impact in actual success rates and we beg to differ. They're actually looking at taking away the gains we've made over the last decade in class sizes at the elementary level."

"Some of those increases include students with special needs the outside help that we do get, they're wanting to cut that back too.Not only are they increasing sizes but they're cutting back on the support students would get," said Debbie Macdonald, a Grade 9 teacher at Philemon Wright High School in Gatineau.

"I'm going to continue to do my job the best I can but in the end, the people that suffer are the students. They're not getting what they need. You can see an increase in dropouts, anger, frustration;it can really build up."

Supportfrom parents

Macdonald saidshe's feeling the highest level of support from parents in her 28-year teaching career, but some parents told CBC News Monday they're upset they have to make other plans to take care of their children.

"I find that the children are paying and the parents are paying and while I would like to give my support to the teachers it's really a challenge for the parents to deal with these rotating strikes," saidGenevieveCasa, a parent of two boys going to one of the French schools in the Outaouais, in an interview withOttawa Morninghost Robyn Bresnahan on Monday.

The province's two largest labour federations representing employees in the public health and education sectorsalsovoted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike mandate earlier this month.

If there's no progress in ongoing talks, that could mean a three-day general strike Dec. 1, 2 and 3.

Issues affecting around 400,000 public sector workers in Quebec, including teachers and support staff,include a wage freeze and cuts to pension plans.

Other places affected byjob action Monday include the three campuses of the Cgep de l'Outaouais and theCentres de sant et de service sociauxof Gatineau, the Gatineau Valley, Papineau and Collines.