OSSTF/FEESO Condemns the Imposition of Back-to-Work Legislation

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 28, 2015) - The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) categorically condemns the imposition of back-to-work legislation on our teacher and occasional teacher members at the Durham, Rainbow and Peel District School Boards.

"The legislation that was passed today accomplishes nothing more than to inflame a situation that's already rife with animosity and distrust," said OSSTF/FEESO President Paul Elliott. "For months our members have endured indifference and disrespect from their employers at the local bargaining table, and now the Premier and the Education Minister have added further insult by removing their right to withdraw their services."

"A government that's truly interested in negotiated settlements would be taking aim at the ludicrous contract strips the school boards are demanding, rather than targeting our members' rights," continued Elliott. "And they certainly would not be coming to the central bargaining table, alongside their partners in the Ontario Public School Boards' Association, armed with demands for even broader and more damaging strips. But this is the path they've chosen, and now they have a bargaining process that's spinning out of control on all fronts. The legislation they've passed today is not going to fix that problem."

"Our members will comply with the legislation and return to their classrooms as the professionals they are, knowing that Premier Wynne and Minister Sandals have robbed them of a fundamental right," concluded Elliott.

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.