PICK A SIDE: Do you support the government or the teachers?
Published March 6, 2020 at 5:49 pm
Negotiations between Ontario’s teachers and the provincial government are still going on, and it appears both sides are still far apart when it comes to reaching a new CBA.
Many of the teachers have been saying they’re fighting for their students.
While government treats students like numbers on a spreadsheet, do you know what every teacher I chatted with on the picket line talked about?? Their students, past and present. We care about Ontario students & we strike because we feel our government should too #onted #onpoli pic.twitter.com/Jyi4BrCNeS
— Nadia Guerrera (@nadia_guerrera) March 6, 2020
However, the government has accused them of fighting to line their own pockets at the expense of their students.
The teachers strikes in Ontario today proves that the unions orchestrating their walkouts are nothing but greedy thugs. The gov. caved into their demands on class size and e-learning, and now we know it’s not about the students, it’s about the wrath of the unions.
— terry l. (@dubsndoo) March 5, 2020
Two of the main sticking points for the teachers are the increased class sizes, and the fact online courses will become mandatory for students to graduate.
The government’s sticking point has been compensation for teachers, they’ve accused unions of demanding their new CBA include raises larger than the one per cent cap for public-sector employees.
The teachers have maintained what they’re doing is in the best interest in their students’ education and not about their own compensation–they’ve said that the amount of wages they’ve lost during the strikes so far is more than the amount the government has accused them of demanding in negotiations.
However, the government recently issued a release stating they’ve proposed keeping class sizes the same for most grades and allowing parents the option to opt their kids out of the online courses required for graduation.
In response, many teachers accused the government of trying to curry the favour of the public–they claimed the government hasn’t proposed these changes during negotiations.
So, Mississauga, what do you think? Do you agree with the government that compensation is a significant reason for these strikes, or do you agree that the teachers are fighting for our students and the government is making unnecessary cuts which will have negative impact on our education system?
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