Talks were continuing on Thursday as public elementary teachers hit the picket lines across Lambton-Kent.
Local public schools were closed with the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) conducting rotating strikes to back their contract demands.
Nicole Schultz, a teacher at High Park Public School, was picketing outside of the Lambton Kent District School Board education centre on Wellington Street.
She said the message they're sending to parents is simple.
"We're doing it for your kids," said Schultz. "This is for their education for the future. We are in the classrooms every day working hard for your kids, and we know what it's like when they're overcrowded or when there's violence. We want what we need in the classrooms to support your kids. We feel the frustrations with you, let's work together."
Negotiations between ETFO and the provincial government resumed Wednesday for the first time in more than a month.
Schultz said it's encouraging to see talks continue.
"I'm hopeful and optimistic," she said. "I'm hoping it's not just smoke and mirrors by our education minister because we have the public's support. I hope it's not just him in a counterplay to hold off and say 'see I'm at the table and those union bosses are terrible.'"
The union promises to escalate its job action next week with more rotating strikes and a full one-day province-wide walkout Thursday, February 6, if a new central agreement isn't reached by Friday.
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce maintains compensation is a key issue with teachers demanding wage and benefit increases the province can't afford.
