Talks continue with the union representing Ontario’s high school teachers, who will walk off the job on Wednesday if no deal is reached.Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, said his negotiators remain frustrated over the slow pace of talks, which were held all weekend in a bid to avoid the one-day strike.“Over the last two days we’ve seen no evidence that the government is serious about getting to a deal that safeguards students’ quality of education,” Bischof told the Star Sunday night. “The government continues to drag its feet” even though the public opposes government measures such as larger classes and mandatory online credits for teens.“We remain committed to negotiating a deal that is good for Ontario’s students.”The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) represents 60,000 members — including teachers, speech-language pathologists, school psychologists, social workers as well as office and maintenance staff in some boards — and their Dec. 4 job action will shut down English public high schools, as well as some elementary schools in English, French and French Catholic boards. Negotiations for teachers continue Monday and for support staff on Tuesday.The “full withdrawal of services” on Dec. 4 is a first for the union in more than two decades. His members have been on a work-to-rule since last Tuesday.In a statement to the Star, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said he was “calling on (the unions) to stay at the table and work with us in good faith” to get deals. The government, Lecce said, is going to “continue to fight to ensure your children remain in class.” On Thursday, he called the strike action “deeply troubling,” saying “strikes hurt kids.”The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario also launched a work-to-rule last Tuesday, but will not par ...
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