THUNDER BAY – Senior elementary school teachers under the auspices of the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board will be subjected to a one-day lockout on Wednesday, say board officials.
The decision will affect students at Bishop E.Q. Jennings, Bishop Gallagher and Pope John Paul II, which teachers on Tuesday targeted to start rotating strike action.
The board had threatened to lock out all of its elementary teachers if rotating strikes began, but chose to only target senior elementary schools at this time.
“The schools will be open, but parents should expect picket lines and delays. Parents may wish to consider alternate childcare arrangements during this lockout. Every effort will be made to ensure your child is in a safe environment, but programming will be greatly affected by this lockout,” board director of education Pino Tassone said in a release.
Aldo Grillo, who heads the Thunder Bay unit of the Ontario Elementary Catholic Teachers' Association, said the board is effectively punishing teachers for exercising their right to strike.
"All of our bargaining group is surprised at this development. We had notified the board of our walkout today, and notified them last Friday, giving parents and families plenty of notice," Grillo said. "We were fully intent on returning back to the classroom tomorrow, but the board has announced that they are going to lock us out."
Grillo said for a board so concerned about student safety, providing less than 24-hours notice to parents and guardians flies against that philosophy.
"It speaks volumes," Grillo said, adding the next round of rotating strikes could take place this week.
The union has yet to determine whether or not locked-out teachers will picket at the affected schools or once again outside the board's Victoria Avenue offices.
"In all likelihood it will be at the board office once again," he said, reasserting the union's offer to settle the labour dispute through binding arbitration, a move the board has repeatedly rejected.
Tassone said if further rotating strikes are instituted by the union, he will have no choice but to lock out all elementary teachers until a contract is reached.
Teachers are at odds with TBCDSB over its internal hiring policy and want more say about who is hired when positions open up, stating experience should be a key factor.
They’ve been in a legal strike position since last June.
