Ontario Premier Doug Ford is telling teachers to slow their roll and think about the great deal they already have with three months of holidays as well as “the best benefits and pensions in the country.”
Teachers’ unions across Ontario have been making noise of late, complaining about larger mandated classroom sizes and budget cuts.
While Ford acknowledges that teachers have been doing a great job and he appreciates them, he remains insistent that any job action against his government would be ill-advised, adding that teachers “have to get with the times.”
Potential for strikes
The province’s contracts with teachers are set to expire at the end of August opening up the potential for strikes, just as kids are scheduled to return to school.
Unions have already expressed concerns given the increases in class sizes put forward by the Conservative government.
Global reports that Ford “says an Aug. 31 expiry date for teachers’ contracts … will never happen again under his government.”
City TV‘s Cynthia Mulligan tweeted that in response to a question about a potential back to work legislation, Ford said “Let’s cross that bridge if we get to it.”
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