Update: April 20, 2020
The Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) and the government of Ontario have reached a tentative agreement with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) at both the teacher/occasional teacher and education worker central bargaining tables. OSSTF has indicated that the new contract will be put to a ratification vote in May.
Update: March 18, 2020
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) announced today that it is immediately suspending all strike sanctions indefinitely. This includes sanctions that were part of a limited withdrawal of administrative services that has been in place since November 26. OSSTF had previously announced that rotating full withdrawals of services would be suspended until March 27. That suspension is now also indefinite.
Update: March 4, 2020
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) will be taking part in a rotating strike tomorrow (Thursday, March 5, 2020) that will impact the TDSB.
As with previous strike days, the TDSB would have no other option but to close all secondary schools (9-12) to students tomorrow as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety. Parents/guardians are required to make alternate arrangements for their children if necessary. Please note that school offices will remain open.
In addition to all TDSB secondary schools, Adult High Schools and Night Schools offering secondary credits will also be closed to students. Secondary e-Learning classes and any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) will be cancelled.
Wednesday, March 4.
Update: February 28, 2020
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) announced today that, should a tentative agreement not be reached, its members (teachers and education workers) will conduct a one-day walkout (full withdrawal of services) on Thursday, March 5, 2020 and return to work on Friday, March 6, 2020. Should there be a walkout on March 5, the TDSB would have no other option but to close all secondary schools (Gr. 9 to 12) to students as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety.
As a result, parents/guardians should make alternate arrangements for their children if required. Please note that school offices will remain open.
In addition to all TDSB secondary schools, Adult High Schools and Night Schools offering secondary credits will also be closed to students. Secondary e-Learning classes and any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) will be cancelled.
Elementary and middle schools will remain open. All adult non-credit programs, such as Adult ESL and Learn4Life, will continue to run.
letter sent to Parents on February 28.
Update: February 12, 2020
Today, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) announced that both unions will be participating in a one-day walkout (full strike) on Friday, February 21, 2020.
As with previous strike days, the TDSB would have no other option but to close all elementary schools (JK-8) and all secondary schools (9-12) to students on Friday, February 21 as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety. Parents/guardians should make alternate arrangements for their children on this day, if required.
Child care centres located in elementary schools will be permitted to stay open. Please contact the child care provider directly for more information. TDSB Extended Day Programs will also be open to currently enrolled students for a full day of programs. EarlyON Child and Family Centres will operate during their regular hours.
Should the strike continue as planned, all International Languages Elementary and African Heritage classes would be cancelled on strike days only. However, all adult non-credit programs, such as Adult ESL and Learn4Life, will continue to run.
In addition to all TDSB secondary schools, Adult High Schools and Night Schools offering secondary credits will also be closed to students. Secondary e-Learning classes and any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) will be cancelled.
letter sent to parents/guardians on February 12 about Friday's one-day walkout.
Update: January 23, 2020
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) has announced that, should progress not be made in negotiations, its members (teachers and education workers) will conduct another one-day walkout (full withdrawal of services) at a number of school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, on Tuesday, January 21, 2020. They will return to work on Wednesday, January 22, 2020.
Should the walkout take place, the TDSB would, once again, have no other option but to close all secondary schools to students, including Adult Day Schools and Night Schools offering secondary credits, as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety. All classes, including secondary e-Learning classes, and any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) would be cancelled on that day. As a result, parents/guardians should make alternate arrangements for their children, if required.
In the event of a walkout by OSSTF, elementary and middle schools would remain open. All adult non-credit programs, such as Adult ESL and Learn4Life, will continue to run.
OSSTF has also indicated that the walkout on January 21 will be the last full withdrawal of services by OSSTF members until after the secondary school exam period.
OSSTF is in negotiations with the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) to achieve new collective agreements for secondary teachers and education workers (including Child and Youth Workers, Psychologists, Social Workers and Speech-Language Pathologists).
Read the parent/guardian letter regarding OSSTF's one-day walkout for more information.
Update - January 23:
As per the sanctions, secondary teachers will be inputting student marks electronically, but will not be writing comments. As a result, semester one report cards will be produced for secondary students with marks only and distributed following the completion of the semester. Read the parent/guardian letter regarding term 1 report cards for more information.
Update: January 10, 2020
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) has announced that another one-day walkout is scheduled to take place at some Ontario school boards on Wednesday, January 15 if an agreement is not reached. It is important to note that this walkout does not impact the TDSB.
All TDSB schools will be open to students on January 15.
On this day, OSSTF members in school boards not impacted by this walkout (including the TDSB) will hold information pickets in front of schools before or after school, or during lunch periods. The limited withdrawal of services, which began on November 26, will continue province-wide.
Update: January 3, 2020
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) has announced that a fourth one-day walkout is scheduled to take place at some Ontario school boards on Wednesday, January 8 if an agreement is not reached. It is important to note that this walkout does not impact the TDSB.
All TDSB schools will be open to students on January 8.
On this day, OSSTF members in school boards not impacted by this walkout (including the TDSB) will hold information pickets in front of schools before or after school, or during lunch periods. The limited withdrawal of services, which began on November 26, will continue province-wide.
Update: December 13, 2019
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) has announced that a third one-day walkout is scheduled to take place at some Ontario school boards on Wednesday, December 18 if an agreement is not reached. It is important to note that this walkout does not impact the TDSB.
OSSTF has announced that its members at the following Boards will take part in the walkout:
- Lakehead District School Board
- Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board
- Lambton Kent District School Board
- Thames Valley District School Board
- Waterloo Region District School Board
- Waterloo Catholic District School Board
- York Region District School Board
- York Catholic District School Board
- Halton District School Board
- Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board
All TDSB schools will be open to students on December 18.
On this day, OSSTF members in other school boards (including the TDSB) will hold information pickets in front of schools before or after school, or during lunch periods. The limited withdrawal of services, which began on November 26, will continue province-wide.
Update: December 11, 2019
All TDSB secondary schools (grades 9-12) are closed to students today (Wednesday, December 11, 2019) as a result of a one-day walkout by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) teachers and education workers. Parents/guardians are required to make alternate arrangements for their children if necessary. Secondary schools will re-open to students on Thursday, December 12, 2019.
In addition to all TDSB secondary schools, Adult High Schools, secondary e-Learning classes, and Night Schools offering secondary credits are also closed to students/cancelled. Any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) are cancelled.
Elementary and middle schools remain open. General Interest and Adult ESL courses are not impacted and will continue to run.
We remain hopeful that negotiations will continue and that a contract agreement can be reached to avoid any further disruption to students’ education.
Update: December 6, 2019
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) has announced that, should a tentative agreement not be reached, its members (teachers and education workers) will conduct another one-day walkout (full withdrawal of services) at a number of school boards, including the Toronto District School Board, on Wednesday, December 11, 2019. They will return to work on Thursday, December 12, 2019.
Should the walkout take place, the TDSB would, once again, have no other option but to close all secondary schools to students, including Adult Day Schools and Night Schools offering secondary credits, as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety. All classes, including secondary e-Learning classes, and any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) would be cancelled. As a result, parents/guardians should make alternate arrangements for their children if required.
In the event of a walkout by OSSTF, elementary and middle schools would remain open, and General Interest and Adult ESL courses would not be impacted.
OSSTF is in negotiations with the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) to achieve new collective agreements for secondary teachers and education workers (including Child and Youth Workers, Psychologists, Social Workers and Speech-Language Pathologists).
Read the letter sent to parents/guardians on December 6.
Update: December 4, 2019
All TDSB secondary schools are closed to students today (Wednesday, December 4, 2019) as a result of a one-day walkout by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) secondary teachers and education workers. Parents/guardians are required to make alternate arrangements for their children if necessary. Secondary schools will re-open to students on Thursday, December 5, 2019.
In addition to all TDSB secondary schools, Adult High Schools and Night School offering secondary credits are also closed to students. Any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) are cancelled. General Interest courses offered in the evening are not impacted and will continue to run as usual.
We remain hopeful that negotiations will continue and that a contract agreement can be reached to avoid any further disruption to students’ education.
Update: November 28, 2019
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) has announced that, should a tentative agreement not be reached, its members (teachers and education workers) will conduct a one-day walkout (full withdrawal of services) on Wednesday, December 4, 2019 and return to work on Thursday, December 5, 2019.
Should the walkout take place, the TDSB would have no other option but to close all secondary schools to students, including Adult Day Schools and Secondary Night School, as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety. All classes and any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) would be cancelled. As a result, parents/guardians should make alternate arrangements for their children if required.
OSSTF is in negotiations with the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) to achieve new collective agreements for secondary teachers and education workers (including Child and Youth Workers, Social Workers and Speech-Language Pathologists).
Update: November 19, 2019
Today, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) announced that its members will be taking part in a withdrawal of services (sometimes referred to as work-to-rule) beginning Tuesday, November 26, 2019. This is a limited withdrawal of services and not a full withdrawal/strike.
The withdrawal of services includes, but is not limited to:
- Not performing EQAO preparation or testing
- Not attending unpaid staff meetings outside the school day
- Not providing comments on any secondary provincial report cards
On Tuesday, OSSTF members will also begin information pickets that will take place before or after school, or during lunch periods. The purpose of the information pickets is to distribute information to parents/students and the public. OSSTF has stated that the information pickets will not disrupt the regular school day and will have no effect on students in the classroom.
During this withdrawal of services, schools will remain open and instructional programs will continue to run. However, should the withdrawal of services progress to include further sanctions, it may have a more significant impact on school activities, permits and school operations.
@tdsb on Twitter.
Update: November 1, 2019
The Ministry of Labour has released a no-board report for OSSTF Teachers and for OSSTF Education Workers. This means that OSSTF Teachers and OSSTF Education Workers will be in a legal strike position in 17 days, which is November 18, 2019.
At this time, OSSTF has not indicated that strike action (partial withdrawal or full withdrawal of services) will begin. Negotiations between the OSSTF, OPSBA and the Ontario government continue.
Update: October 24, 2019
Ontario Government Proposes Lower High School Class Size
Today, the Ontario government made public a proposal that high school class size be funded at an average of 25 students to 1 teacher. This is a change from the government’s March 2019 announcement to increase high school class size to 28:1 over the next four years. The Ontario government made this announcement as part of the ongoing contract negotiations among the Ontario government, the Ontario Public School Board’s Association (OPSBA - representing Ontario’s public school boards) and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF).
OSSTF Teachers Requesting No-Board Report
OSSTF notified OPSBA and the Ontario government that they are requesting a no-board report for OSSTF Teachers. This means that OSSTF Teachers across Ontario will be in a legal strike position 17 days (approximately the third week of November) once the no-board report is issued. At this time, OSSTF has not indicated that strike action (partial withdrawal or full withdrawal of services) will begin. Negotiations between the OSSTF, OPSBA and the Ontario government continue.
Update: October 23, 2019
OSSTF notified OPSBA and the Ontario government that they are requesting a no-board report for OSSTF Education Workers. This means that OSSTF Education Workers will be in a legal strike position 17 days after the no-board report is issued if there is no agreement on a new contract.
OSSTF has not indicated that its Education Workers bargaining unit will commence job action. Should it occur, job action could range from a withdrawal of selected services to a full withdrawal of service (strike). If job action takes place, it can happen at one or more school boards at the same time or at different times.
OSSTF Education Workers at the TDSB represent more than 800 employees in the following employee groups:
- Attendance Counsellors
- Child and Youth Workers
- Child and Youth Counsellors
- Court Liaison Workers
- Educational Audiologists
- Multilingual Team Leaders
- Occupational Therapists
- Physiotherapists
- Psycho-Educational Consultants Psychologists and Psychological Associates
- Social Workers
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- Student Equity Program Advisor
It is also expected that OSSTF will be filing a no-board report for OSSTF Teachers at the next negotiations meeting which is scheduled for tomorrow (October 24).
Ontario school boards and the provincial government continue to negotiate with OSSTF Teachers, OSSTF Education Workers and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO). Like CUPE, we are hopeful that a new contract can be negotiated with OSSTF and all other school board employee groups. We will continue to update parents/guardians as new developments arise.
Update: October 17, 2019
OSSTF is in contract negotiations with representatives of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA - representing Ontario’s public school boards, including the TDSB) and the Ontario government.
OSSTF has begun the process of taking a strike vote across the province. The federation will be asking its members whether they are supportive of the federation taking strike action if there is no agreement on a new contract. Voting by its members will be completed by November 15, 2019. It is important to note that a strike vote of its members does not necessarily mean that job action/partial or full withdrawal of services will be taken by the OSSTF.
Contract negotiations among the OSSTF, public school boards and the Ontario government are on-going.
A tentative agreement on a new contract was reached with CUPE and we are hopeful that a new contract can be negotiated with OSSTF and all other school board employee groups.