EMSB, Lester B. Pearson teachers approve 3 more strike days
Lester B. Pearson teachers to vote this afternoon
Teachers with the English Montreal School Board and Lester B. Pearson School Board voted today in favour of three more strike days.
The Montreal Teachers Association, the union representing about 2,300 EMSB teachers, said the strike dates will be determined later.
The MTA vote won by a margin of 76 per cent in favour of the three strike days.
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The Pearson Teachers Union, which represents 3,000 full-time, part-time and substitute teachers, also voted 76 per cent in favour of the additional strike days this afternoon.
The teachers represented by both unions have been without a contract since April.
Tuesday's votes came as teachers in both the EMSB and Lester B. Pearson School Board took to the picket lines on Tuesday for a third day of strikes since September.
The three additional days bring the total approved strike days to six.
The unions are protesting against lagging contract talks with the provincial government, where points of contention include increasing class sizes and lowering support services for students with special needs.
"Although the government has adjusted some of its demands, we have still not reached a point where they will ensure that all the provisions that protect class sizes and support for special needs students remain," Peter Sutherland, president of the Montreal Teachers Association, said in a news release on Tuesday.
"The current government salary offer and the detrimental changes to our pension plan are also of concern to teachers."