Schools in Guelph and Wellington County to be hit by teachers' strikes next Wednesday

Teachers and education workers in Guelph and Wellington County who are represented by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation will take part in another one-day strike next Wednesday if an agreement over a new contract isn't reached with the provincial government by then.

On Friday, the union announced the latest school boards that will be impacted by job action and included the Upper Grand District School Board and the Wellington Catholic District School Board on that list.

Upper Grand and Wellington Catholic confirmed all schools will be closed unless a strike is averted.

"This one-day strike action does not impact WRDSB schools. Our schools will be open to students on Wednesday, January 15, 2020," the Waterloo Region District School Board said in a release Friday.

The Waterloo Catholic District School Board is also not listed as a target by the union action.

This will be the fifth one-day walkout for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF), the second one to impact schools in Guelph and Wellington County.

OSSTF president Harvey Bischof said in a release on Friday that the minister of education "continues to peddle the false narrative that this dispute is about compensation."

Bischof says the union wants to see the province back off changes to class sizes and staffing.

"If the government agrees to return to, and maintain, the class size ratios and staffing levels that were in place just a year ago, we will call off our January 15 job action, and continue to bargain in good faith to resolve the many other outstanding issues," he said.