Ontario elementary teachers in strike position on May 10

Elementary teachers in Ontario are in a legal strike position and could be off work by May 10, after the union representing them received a "no board" report from the province.

The Elementary Teachers'Federation of Ontario (ETFO), which represents around 76,000 teachers across the province, said it received the"no board" report from Ontario's Ministry of Labour on Friday.

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The report doesn't mean negotiations have stopped, but the ETFO said in a news release that bargaining with the government "stalled" in February after the Ontario Public School Boards'Association and the government tabled demands that the union said would "erode" working conditions.

Elementary teachers have been working under the conditions of an older contract since last August, the union said.

"ETFO continues to be open to meaningful bargaining that meets the needs and respects the professionalism of our members," said ETFO President Sam Hammond in the news release.

But, he warned, "ETFO members are running out of patience."

The potential ETFO strike comes amid a wave of labour unrest among teachers in the province.

High schools in Sudbury, Ont., and the surrounding area will be closed next week if the region's board is
unable to reach a deal with teachers over the weekend.

Teachers in Durham Region, meanwhile, hit the picket lines last Monday leaving some 24,000 students out of class.

High school teachers in Peel Region have set a strike date ofMay 4.