Extracurricular boycott ruled an 'illegal strike'

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario broke the law when it advised its members to withdraw from extracurricular activities, the Ontario Labour Relations Board ruled April 11.

The ruling states that teachers have the option not to participate in extracurriculars, but the way in which ETFO advised its members to withdraw was an “illegal strike.”

The complaint was filed in January by the Trillum Lakelands and the Upper Canada District school boards. The ruling only applies to job action in these two boards.

Both the ETFO and its secondary school counterpart, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, ended their extracurricular boycotts in recent weeks.

Negotiations between the unions and the province resulted in tentative agreements to improve terms of a contract imposed by the government earlier this year.

The ETFO said in a press release it would abide by the labour board's decision.

However, the union said the labour board's decision confirms, as ETFO had asserted during the hearing, the union's advice to members about withdrawing voluntary services was not a “directive.”

While the decision states that the concerned withdrawal of voluntary services during the term of a collective agreement falls within the definition of a strike, this is subject to a decision by the labour board on charter issues related to the definition, which is still outstanding, the press release said.

“This ruling reinforced the position of ETFO that individual members have the right to make personal decisions about whether or not to participate in voluntary/extracurricular activities,” said ETFO president Sam Hammond.

“You can't legislate goodwill. There is no other profession where people are expected to perform hours and hours of voluntary service each week, and then are castigated for making personal decisions to put their principles, their families and their own welfare first.

“ETFO remains committed to working with the government to find meaningful ways to address the current issues facing the education sector and bring peace and stability back to our schools.”

Education Minister Liz Sandals said in a statement that the government would review the labour board's ruling.

“While we will review this decision, our focus remains on our ongoing discussions with ETFO and re-building relationships across the sector to ensure we continue to build on one of the best education systems in the world,” she said.