By any standards, Ontario teachers are well compensated for their labours.
They are Canada’s highest paid. They enjoy secure pensions and generous benefits, both of which are increasingly rare outside the public service. They have summers off and numerous winter breaks, as well as the opportunity to retire early with a solid income. For the most part, they enjoy high public esteem.
They also have among the most militant unions in the country. Despite all the good fortune just mentioned, their unions are perennially dissatisfied. Every government of any stripe over the past 30 years has suffered their censure for allegedly failing to appreciate, accommodate and compensate their members to the degree they feels is their due. Liberal, Conservative, New Democrat, no matter, it’s always the same: some issue arises that union bosses condemn as an insult to their profession, an attack on students and a mortal threat to the future of education. Government negotiators are always slippery, cunning and dishonest in dealing with union complaints, while teachers only care about students and hate the fact that they are forced, once again, to disrupt their studies in order to demand better treatment from the heartless government.
Teachers themselves may be dedicated professionals with deep concern for students and respect for learning, but they have long since ceded contract authority to their unions. Requests to authorize walkouts over whatever issue is currently deemed intolerable are overwhelmingly approved. Those who may hold personal doubts know better than to challenge the powers that be.
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See Also:
(1) Ontario teachers walkout comes down to who should control the school system
