Monte McNaughton has issued an open letter in response to legal action by Ontario’s four main teachers’ unions.
The unions have accused the province of failing to meet health and safety standards when it comes to returning to the classroom and are planning to file an appeal with the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
As Ontario’s Minister of Labour, Training, and Skills Development, McNaughton can’t comment specifically on the case before the Labour Relations Board, but says health and safety inspectors have already met with the majority of school boards and provided training on how to be safe at school.
“this is no different than our work with employers of the millions of Ontario workers who remained on the job during the pandemic, as well as those who have since returned to work,” McNaughton says in the statement. “In every case, including construction sites, supermarkets, retailers, manufacturing and more, workers, industry, labour and government worked together to create safe workplaces. That spirit of cooperation was effective.”
The Minister says he’s doing everything he can to ensure all staff are safe from workplace hazards, including COVID-19.
