TORONTO - Three Ontario school boards where high school teachers are on strike are asking for the job actions to be declared unlawful.
The boards in Durham District, east of Toronto, Rainbow District, encompassing Sudbury and the surrounding area, and Peel District, west of Toronto, are filing a joint application to the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
More than 70,000 high school students have been kept from class by the strikes, which began April 20 in Durham, the following week in Rainbow District, and the first week of May in Peel District.
The heads of the three school boards say they believe the three strikes are really over matters being negotiated at the central table, which is not allowed under the new bargaining structure.
This is the first round of negotiations for both high school and elementary teachers since the province brought in a new negotiating system, separating local and provincial talks, with monetary issues being discussed centrally.
They are calling on the Ontario Labour Relations Board to rule on their application as soon as possible to get students back into their classrooms.
