Remembering Ghandi’s struggle

Remembering Ghandi’s struggle

By Rathika Sitsabaiesan

On October 2nd we celebrate the birth of one of the world’s greatest human rights champions and most well-known individuals, Mahatma Ghandi. Ghandi is most widely recognized as the leader of non-violent protest against the oppressive English rule in India, and, the individual who lead the way for India to gain its independence in 1947. His actions are highly regarded throughout the world and he has been credited as inspiring other great rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

However, Ghandi fought for more than just independence. His fight was to create a fair and equal world for all. He wanted to create a society whereby an individual’s religion, ethnicity, gender, or caste made no difference to their legal rights or how they were treated.

Ghandi’s work and his beliefs were not only an inspiration; they made him a teacher for many. To this day his writings are cherished and read by those studying rights-based philosophy. His teachings will surely be read long into the future, and his emphasis on dignity, respect, and the importance of rights are as strong as ever.

It is imperative to understand the importance of maintaining the rights we have gained, and not allowing individuals or governments to step on them. It is apt then, that Ghandi’s birthday falls three days prior to International World Teacher’s Day, at a time when Ontario teachers and educational workers are fighting for their right to bargain collectively.

Brushing the rights of teachers and educational workers aside should not just be of concern to them; it should be of concern to all working people in Ontario. Legislating away the constitutionally protected right to bargain collectively, as supported by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, sets a bad precedent for future labour negotiations in Ontario. Whether they are government workers or not, the right to bargain collectively is clearly under threat if the Ontario Liberal government are willing to walk all over it.

What is most confusing about the government’s decision is that there was no big teachers strike coming. The unions and individual school boards could have continued to negotiate in good faith, as they have done before, and may have come to a reasonable agreement. Choosing to legislate teachers back to work and pass anti-bargaining measures demonstrates a lack of respect for the importance of rights guaranteed by the Charter and for the work many teachers and educational workers do to enrich the lives of the children and in our communities.

Mahatma Ghandi emphasised the importance of dignity and respect, and the way teachers have been treated in this situation certainly demonstrates a lack of both. Teachers have taken to cancelling their extra-curricular work in protest and to demonstrate the extra time that they put in to their job. It is this time outside of the classroom that many forget or do not acknowledge that the teachers volunteer their time to improve the quality of their children’s educational experience.

Many teachers have taken it upon themselves to make these invaluable extra-curricular activities part of their job, part of their commitment to youth. The value added to our lives and those of our youth by committed educators cannot be underestimated. It is those teachers who stay a couple hours late to run a tutoring session for struggling students that make the difference, and it is those same teachers whose rights are being trampled upon.

However, it is not just the assault on teachers collective bargaining rights that is concerning, but also the attempts to blame teachers for this situation. By naming Bill-115 “Putting Students First”, the Ontario government has effectively stated that the teachers are not “putting students first”. This rhetoric has been ever present in this dispute and has been used as a tool in an attempt to shape the public’s opinion of the teachers.

It is this rhetoric that creates such animosity and prevents any form of logical debate on an issue. There is no doubt in my mind that teachers are eager to return to their extra-curricular activities and spend more time with their students. These teachers and educational workers are the front-line workers, they know as much as anyone how important the extra-curricular activities are for their students. Perhaps if the government recognized the importance of the work teachers do for students outside of their mandate, they would not treat them with such disdain and completely disregard their rights.

Teachers help our children stay active, get through a difficult class, inspire them to continue learning, and most of all, teachers care about the well-being of our country’s future. The least we could do is stand alongside them and demand that their rights, rights guaranteed by our Charter, be respected.

————————————-

(Rathika Sitsabaiesan, MP Scarborough-Rouge River)