Schreiner responds to one-day teacher strike

November 29, 2019

“The Minister wants teachers and education staff to sign off on his cuts to education.

I respect educators for pushing back to defend quality public education.

This one-day walkout will be disruptive for students and families, but I respect the rights of teachers to labour action in order to defend the long-term health of our education system.

To move negotiations forward, the Minister must change the government’s policy direction.

A class size increase to 25 students is untenable. Mandatory online learning is inequitable. Pulling thousands of teachers out of classrooms is irresponsible.

The government is more preoccupied with spinning their cuts than addressing these issues at the bargaining table.

Teachers are not the villains here. They are the ones standing up for investments in education.

The only pathway to a deal is to fully reverse the cuts.”

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