The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) has announced that unless progress is made at the central bargaining table, their members will engage in a full withdrawal of services—strike action—on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 at some school boards, including the Peel District School Board.
As such, on Jan. 8, 2020, all Peel board secondary schools—grades 9 to 12—will be closed to students, unless progress is made in negotiations, and will reopen on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. If the strike action occurs, Night School will also be cancelled on Jan. 8, as well as Co-op placements and Fresh Start. Students in dual credit programs are to report to their college locations as previously scheduled.
We will continue to monitor the labour situation and will provide updates to you as they become available. Please consider making alternate arrangements for your teen, if you feel it is required.
Elementary schools—kindergarten to grade 8—will remain open to students. Child care programs in elementary schools and evening permits will continue as usual in secondary schools.
We appreciate that job action is frustrating for families, students and staff. At this time, no other job action has been announced by OSSTF or the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.
As changes in strike action can happen at any time, it is important that you stay connected and look for updates. To find out the impact on schools:
• Visit the Peel board website at www.peelschools.org/labour.
• Follow @PeelSchools on Twitter and/or like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/peelschools.
• Sign up to receive immediate alerts by subscribing to “critical updates” at www.peelschools.org/aboutus/subscribe. Don’t forget to confirm your subscription.
• Watch for updates on local news outlets—television, radio, newspaper.
We all want our schools and work sites to continue to be places that value the efforts of all who contribute to student success and well-being, so we remain hopeful that an agreement may be reached in the coming days. As always, we appreciate your patience and understanding.
