January 14, 2013
For immediate release

 

Toronto, ON—Members of the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance of Ontario/Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada (UKPC/FCYA-ON) are outraged by the Liberal Education Minister Laurel Broten’s recent move of imposing undemocratic and unjust contracts on Ontario teachers through the so-called ‘Putting Students First Act’ or ‘Bill 115’. We, Filipino Canadian youth and students, condemn this action and stand firm in our position that this bill does not put students first, but puts the government’s interests to the detriment of teachers and students alike. This move is nothing but part of the provincial government’s neoliberal agenda to slash public funding in education.

Despite the government’s attempts to state that Bill 115 is just a matter of teacher’s pay and salaries which the Provincial Government can no longer afford, the issue extends far beyond the imposed two-year wage freeze and slashing of sick days. This bill gives the government power to effectively eliminate collective bargaining rights for Ontario’s 180,000 elementary and secondary school teachers, as well as banning strikes and lock-outs during the two-year period of the legislation. Overall, these changes violate the fundamental rights of teachers, which reverberate on all working people, youth and students in Ontario in countless ways.

The increasing trend of young teachers that are struggling to find permanent teaching positions and are stuck for years doing ‘supply teaching’ and ‘contract-work’ is a clear indication of the increasing casualization of the teaching profession. Currently, two-thirds of recent education graduates in Ontario are under- or unemployed. This trend is bound to continue as the bill now shifts hiring practices to be based on seniority. When teachers, regardless of years of experience, are put in situations of job insecurity and instability, it is without a doubt that the quality of Ontario’s education is put in peril.

As youth, we are alarmed by the drastic changes that are continuously imposed by the government. If our government can act with impunity on teachers, then we, youth and students, by extension, are not safe from these same undemocratic acts. We call into question the current neoliberal policies that are being waged on our teachers and the rest of the working people in this province. As these same policies put our very future in Canadian society at risk, we stand in solidarity with Ontario teachers as they continue to fight for their democratic rights in order to uphold the integrity of the teaching profession and public education as a whole.

Put students first, kill bill 115!
Respect teachers’ collective bargaining rights!
Make the youth count in Canada’s future!

 

For more information, contact:

John Kevin Nerier
(416) 519-2553
ukpc-on@magkaisacentre.org
www.magkaisacentre.org

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