Back-to-work legislation to force striking Sudbury high school teachers back into classroom
"If no one's negotiating, no problems are fixed."
The high school teachers strike in Sudbury will soon be over, after the government tabled back-to-work legislation on Monday, but the bitter feelings after four weeks on the picket line could remain once they're back on the job.
A miserable, rainy day on the picket line was made worse by news the government is legislating English public high school teachers back to work.
Teachers picketing outside Sudbury Secondary School didn't want to speak on the record, but most said it was a bad way to end four weeks on the line.
James Clyke, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation local for the Rainbow District School Board, said that could sour the work environment once classes resume.
"I really am worried about the atmosphere that's being created by the school board and by the province," said Clyke. "Because we're in a situation where we're being forced back and it's a tough situation to be in."
Rainbow board chair Doreen Dewar, says she would have preferred a negotiated end to the strike as well, but said the most important thing is getting teachers and students back in the classroom.
"The first priority is the students getting back into the classroom and whatever it takes to get them back into the classroom as quickly as possible," said Dewar
She predicted that province-wide contract talks won't be too much of a distraction for teachers.
"The ongoing negotiations will be difficult. But I have absolutely no concern about the teachers in the classroom. I believe their dedication is there and has always been there."
It's not known exactly when the back-to-work law will work its way through the legislature this week, with some predicting Thursday is the earliest classes could resume.
Classes would have started on Tuesday morning if the opposition NDP had supported the back-to-work bill.
It will eventually pass since the Liberals have a majority, but classes now likely won't resume until later in the week.
"I think it's unfortunate that there would be any attempt to slow down this process," said Dewar.
New Democrat Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas said she believes back-to-work legislation is always the wrong way to go, but she said to simply vote it through because it will inevitably pass would be careless.
"To simply pass something that you haven't had time to read, is a recipe for disaster most of the time," said Gelinas, who said she's received a "mixed bag" of reaction from constituents about the strike, which affects several schools in her riding.
While teachers will be back at work within days, the contract dispute will go to a mediator and could be months away from being settled.
But Dewar said as long as the board gets notice before 7 p.m., the schools will be open the next morning.
She said only then can the board start determining what impact these weeks of lost classes will have on the grades, exams and graduation.
Not long after Liberal government tabled legislation forcing teachers back to work, Anna Shandro posted a petition hoping to stop it.
Within hours, the Grade 12 Sudbury Secondary student had hundreds of signatures from people supporting the strike.
"They're saying it's for the students. But the thing is, I'm a student and I missed five to six weeks and if that's all for nothing, won't this just happen again?" said Shandro. "If no one's negotiating, no problems are fixed."
Shandro says her own post-secondary plans are set, but said many of her classmates are anxious about how the school year will wrap up.
"We don't have very much time to get things together. It would really be us going back so that the school board would look good."