Ontario English Catholic teachers reach tentative deal with province
Despite that – and in the absence of specific monetary details in the tentative agreement – it’s worth repeating that teachers in Ontario, as public sector workers paid for with the tax revenues generated by the province’s citizens, must show restraint in their demands out of respect for the families they purport to be fighting for.
Education Minister Liz Sandals released a statement saying the agreement has been a result of “hard work and the willingness of all parties to resolve difficult issues prior to the start of the school year”.
No details will be released until the deal is ratified. OECTA’s threatened work-to-rule campaign was by far the most sweeping of all the unions, with teachers participating in virtually no activities outside the classroom. To date, OECTA has obtained over 10,000 supporters on its teachersmatter.ca website. OECTA cares deeply about the quality of education in our province, and we advocate for the professional and contractual welfare of our members to make sure they can focus on what they do best: teach.
The government set up a new, two-tier bargaining process that includes both provincial and local rounds of negotiations.
This is, in effect, a first contract for both high school and elementary teachers union for it is the first time that all issues have not been negotiated locally and separately on a school board by school board basis.
The union representing Francophone teachers in Ontario was scheduled to return to contract negotiations on Wednesday.
“We remain committed to bargaining throughout the remaining weeks of the summer in order to reach agreements at all tables”, said Sandals.
The success of the negotiations between Ontario and its high school teachers is an important signal, especially to parents with children in school, that agreements will also be reached with elementary teaching staff and with the school’s support staff.
CUPE says there have been too few bargaining days for the educational assistants, administrators, custodians, trades people, library technicians, early childhood educators, IT specialists and speech pathologists that it represents.