More Ontario teachers heading toward potential strikes

An empty school classroom is pictured. (AP Photo/Dinesh Ramde)

With high school teachers in Durham already on the picket lines, several more school boards in the province could be heading toward a strike.

On Friday, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario received a "no board" report from the province's minister of labour, which will put elementary-level teachers across the province in a legal strike position in 17 days.

ETFO President Sam Hammond said in a statement Friday that members are "running out of patience," after talks with the Liberal government stalled in February.

"They’ve seen the changes that the (Ontario Public School Boards' Association), in particular, has been demanding. Our members are telling us they are deeply offended by the insinuations that their professional practice needs to be policed by OPSBA," Hammond said.

The union's 76,000 members have been without a collective agreement since the end of August last year. In November, members gave the union a 95 per cent strike mandate.

Talks between the government and the union are set to resume next week.

Meanwhile, members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association also gave their union a 94 per cent strike mandate on Friday.

The president of the Catholic teachers' union told CTV Toronto's Naomi Parness that a strike could take place as early as June. But there's also a good chance that work-to-rule action or a strike could be on the table when students return to school in September.

"Our members' working conditions are also student learning conditions (and) the proposal on the employer’s side would cause real damage to education in this province," said James Ryan, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association.

The union is scheduled to head back to bargaining table on April 28.

Education Minister Liz Sandals issued a statement Friday saying the government will continue to work on reaching agreements with the union.

"Our government remains committed to reaching a negotiated agreement at the central table that is in line with our fiscal plan and supports student success," said Sandals.

The news comes after high school teachers in Durham hit the picket lines on Monday, leaving 24,000 students out of class.

High school teachers in the Sudbury area also plan to go on strike on Monday if they are not able to reach a deal over the weekend.