The Ontario Government is backing down on key union demands at the heart of tense contract talks with the province’s teachers.
But two of the four labour groups representing the province’s educators say the government hasn’t yet tabled the new proposals in bargaining talks.
Yesterday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the province would lower average high school classes to 23, just above its current level of 22 and well shy of the 28 the government initially put on the table last year.
Lecce also said the province would make online courses optional rather than mandatory.
Lecce says those proposals were put before the unions weeks ago, but both the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation say yesterday’s news conference marked the first time they’d heard them.
At this time OECTA still plans to hold the scheduled one day strike that will close all catholic schools in Elgin County tomorrow (Thursday).
