English Catholic teachers announce second province-wide walkout for Feb. 4

Talks to resume with elementary teachers Talks to resume with elementary teachers as Catholic teachers plan to escalate job action. CTV's Matt Skube reports.

OTTAWA — Ontario’s English Catholic teachers will be holding another province-wide walkout next week.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association says its 45,000 members will walk off the job for a day on Tues., Feb. 4. Like last time, it’s expected schools will be closed.

The OECTA walkout will come amid a ramped up week of strikes by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, which is planning one-day strikes in select public boards every day next week, and a province-wide strike next Thursday.

This means three straight days of teachers’ strikes in Ottawa and a full school week of strikes affecting eastern Ontario.

The current strike schedule is as follows:

Both ETFO and OECTA say they want the Provincial government to return to the bargaining table.

In a statement Monday, reacting to the escalated ETFO job action, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the government stands ready to negotiate, but accused the union of striking for better pay and benefits.

"Repeated escalation at the expense of our students, to advance higher compensation, higher wages, and even more generous benefits, is unacceptable for parents and students in our province," Lecce said. "We firmly believe students should be in class, which is why we continue to stand ready to negotiate to reach a deal Ontario students deserve."