UPDATE:
from Toronto's MAJOR newspaper, the TORONTO STAR...
Locked out Ontario teachers sue school board :
A labour dispute that has kept 69,000 Ontario elementary school children out of class for two weeks took a litigious turn today, when the union representing their locked out teachers filed a lawsuit for $14 million in lost wages and health benefits.
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association said the Toronto District Catholic School Board had acted in bad faith in contract negotiations with 3,500 teachers before it locked them out May 16.
Union president Kathy McVean said the association filed suit Friday asking for damages of about $1.3 million a day since the lockout began.
"We have exhausted all of our options in trying to get a resolution to this," McVean said of the lawsuit.
"The board has been negotiating in reverse, which is illegal."
In a written statement released Friday afternoon, the board said it was "disappointed that the union is using its time and resources in this matter, rather than taking any meaningful steps to reach a collective agreement."
The suit alleges that the lockout is unlawful and that the school board is simply biding its time until teachers are forced to return to the classroom as a result of provincial back-to-work legislation.
Premier Ernie Eves's Conservative government introduced legislation last week that would not only force an end to the lockout, but also make it illegal for teachers to withdraw from extracurricular activities when not in a legal strike position.
Opposition parties have stalled passage of the bill however by prolonging debate in the legislature.
The Opposition claims the Tory government could easily end the lockout of Catholic elementary teachers in Toronto, but held back because it allowed the party to trumpet its pre-election campaign promise to ban school strikes during the school year.
Liberal education critic Gerard Kennedy has said the Tories are more concerned about getting exposure for their campaign platform than they are in getting kids back in class.
The board has denied any allegation it is "at the bidding of the provincial government."
McVean said that the teachers' association would consider dropping the suit if the school board returned to the bargaining table.
"Anything to get them back to the table," she said.
The board had refused to send the contract dispute to voluntary arbitration Wednesday, saying it would be too costly.
The teachers are seeking a 8.1 per cent raise over the next two years, which would bring their maximum salary to $75,511. The board has offered 6.5 per cent - a maximum wage of $74,600 without benefits or $73,900 with benefits.
from Toronto's MAJOR newspaper, the TORONTO STAR...
Locked out Ontario teachers sue school board :
A labour dispute that has kept 69,000 Ontario elementary school children out of class for two weeks took a litigious turn today, when the union representing their locked out teachers filed a lawsuit for $14 million in lost wages and health benefits.
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association said the Toronto District Catholic School Board had acted in bad faith in contract negotiations with 3,500 teachers before it locked them out May 16.
Union president Kathy McVean said the association filed suit Friday asking for damages of about $1.3 million a day since the lockout began.
"We have exhausted all of our options in trying to get a resolution to this," McVean said of the lawsuit.
"The board has been negotiating in reverse, which is illegal."
In a written statement released Friday afternoon, the board said it was "disappointed that the union is using its time and resources in this matter, rather than taking any meaningful steps to reach a collective agreement."
The suit alleges that the lockout is unlawful and that the school board is simply biding its time until teachers are forced to return to the classroom as a result of provincial back-to-work legislation.
Premier Ernie Eves's Conservative government introduced legislation last week that would not only force an end to the lockout, but also make it illegal for teachers to withdraw from extracurricular activities when not in a legal strike position.
Opposition parties have stalled passage of the bill however by prolonging debate in the legislature.
The Opposition claims the Tory government could easily end the lockout of Catholic elementary teachers in Toronto, but held back because it allowed the party to trumpet its pre-election campaign promise to ban school strikes during the school year.
Liberal education critic Gerard Kennedy has said the Tories are more concerned about getting exposure for their campaign platform than they are in getting kids back in class.
The board has denied any allegation it is "at the bidding of the provincial government."
McVean said that the teachers' association would consider dropping the suit if the school board returned to the bargaining table.
"Anything to get them back to the table," she said.
The board had refused to send the contract dispute to voluntary arbitration Wednesday, saying it would be too costly.
The teachers are seeking a 8.1 per cent raise over the next two years, which would bring their maximum salary to $75,511. The board has offered 6.5 per cent - a maximum wage of $74,600 without benefits or $73,900 with benefits.
