Education dispute continues

Province-wide strike - Teachers and education workers were picketing throughout Fergus on Feb. 21. All schools in Wellington County were closed for a one-day strike by the four major education unions: the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) and Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO).

This is the first such joint strike since 1997, according to a union press release. All Upper Grand and Wellington Catholic District School Board schools are also scheduled to close on Feb. 28 as education workers represented by OSSTF will be striking. OECTA has canceled rotating strikes for the week of Feb. 24 to 28 as the union continues to negotiate with the province. No other strikes were announced by press time.