December 13th, 2019

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) has announced that on Wednesday, December 18, 2019, their members will engage in a full withdrawal of services (strike action) in selected boards where OSSTF is represented across the province unless an agreement is reached at the central bargaining table. Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) has been included in the list of Boards where withdrawal of services is to occur. 

In WRDSB, OSSTF represents secondary school teachers as well as a number of other education workers. Education workers include our school secretaries, custodial and maintenance staff that work in all of our elementary and secondary schools, and our Education Centre and include the following groups:  Secondary Teachers and Occasional Teachers (TBU), Custodial and Maintenance (CAMA), Educational Support Staff (ESS), Professional Student Services Personnel (PSSP), Supervision Monitors and Cafeteria Assistants (SMACA).  

These education workers are critical to the safety and well-being of our students and the daily operations of all of our schools. As such, we have determined that we cannot ensure the safety of our students at schools during this particular one-day (1-day) strike action. 

In the event of a one-day strike, on December 18, 2019: 

ALL SCHOOLS, both elementary and secondary, will be closed to students. 

ALL before and after school childcare programs, extended day childcare programs, Early ON Centres and third-party operated childcare centres will close. 

ALL extracurricular activities scheduled for December 18, 2019, will be cancelled as will all evening rental permits.

All schools will reopen and resume their regular routines on Thursday, December 19, 2019.

At this time, no other job action has been announced by OSSTF or the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO). We will continue to monitor the labour situation and will provide updates as they become available. We remain hopeful that an agreement is reached and that our schools will be open to our students on Wednesday, December 18, 2019.

As changes to job action can happen at any time, it is important to stay tuned and stay informed in the event that the one-day full withdrawal of service is cancelled.  For information updates please:

We understand that job action is frustrating for families, students and staff.  Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.