Tentative deal for elementary teachers

NOV. 2 UPDATE: The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is advising its members to suspend strike action in light of a tentative agreement reached with the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) and the provincial government.

ETFO members have been without a contract since August 31, 2014 – over 14 months.

“This round of bargaining has been exceptionally lengthy and difficult but in the end we achieved a tentative agreement that ETFO believes is fair and meets the needs of our members,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond.

An ETFO all-member vote among teachers and occasional teachers will be conducted regarding the tentative agreement, with the results of that vote expected in mid-November.

Hammond said its bargaining team will continue “central table negotiations” on behalf of its designated early childhood educators, education support personnel and professional support personnel.

Extra activities cancelled, info pickets this week at public schools

OCT 25 – While Ontario’s public school teachers are preparing to withdraw from all extracurricular activities next week, the province’s Public School Boards’ Association may impose sanctions – including the docking of pay.

The change to terms and conditions of employment came out of a meeting Friday between the premier, education minister and ETFO president.

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario had said Thursday talks have failed and the union’s 78,000 members have been told to escalate work-to-rule action Wednesday which will include no extracurricular activities and information pickets before and after school. If no progress is made it could also affect comments on report cards, due in early November.

“Our repeated requests for OPSBA to return to the bargaining table have been ignored. Finally, with the premier’s intervention, OPSBA is forced back to the table,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond.
The ministry has proposed eight days of negotiations to Nov. 1
Meanwhile, at the high school level, the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation District 29 have reached a tentative settlement on local bargaining issues.

“This is welcome news,” said Dwayne Inch, chair of the board. “It was a tremendous effort by our local OSSTF and board negotiating teams. They worked together through a respectful negotiations process to come to agreement on local issues which are in support of student achievement and well-being.”

“We are pleased to have reached a tentative settlement with the board,” said Doug Ferguson, president of OSSTF District 29. “After nine months of challenges presented by a new negotiations process, we believe we have achieved a respectful and fair agreement for our members.”

Ratification votes by both parties are set for the coming weeks.

No other details are being released at this time.