In a significant development for the education sector in Ontario, the provincial government has reached a tentative agreement with the 3,500 education workers represented by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).
The agreement, reached through negotiations, is expected to have far-reaching implications for both educators and students in the province.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced the development and said it will help keep kids in class.
Lecce said “We are taking an important step towards delivering on this priority by announcing another tentative central agreement with the ETFO Education Workers, helping to bring stability to families and elementary students in Ontario”.
According to the release, an agreement has not yet been reached for ETFO’s 80,000 teacher and occasional teacher members.
When asked about striking a deal with the teachers, Lecce said “I think we’re moving in the right direction”.
“The government has put forth interest arbitration as an option. If we can agree, we have a fair, independent system to render an outcome that avoids a strike and that’s my priority,” Lecce added.
Following the announcement, Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) President Cathy Abraham said in a release that “This tentative agreement acknowledges the significance of education workers in our schools and values the daily contributions they make to enhance students’ educational experience”.
According to the OPSBA, ETFO education workers are represented in a dozen of its member boards and one school authority, including Durham DSB, Halton DSB, Hamilton-Wentworth DSB and Rainbow DSB.
ETFO President Karen Brown in a release said “After a prolonged and difficult bargaining process, we are pleased to be able to bring forward a tentative central agreement to our education worker members that addresses their key bargaining goals”.
“As we have been reminding the Ford government all along, tentative agreements are possible when all parties are genuinely engaged and when you give the legal bargaining process a chance.”
Meanwhile, ETFO has rejected a proposal tentatively agreed to by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) in late August that would see binding arbitration to avoid any chance of a strike.
It was reported that ETFO is holding votes for its members until Oct. 17 to obtain a strike mandate in negotiations. Brown said if they do obtain a strike mandate, it doesn’t necessarily mean walkouts will happen.
In a written statement, Brown said “A strong strike vote result will help ETFO communicate to the Ford government that they must get serious about bargaining”.
More so, the union said details of the agreement will be shared with its education worker members following a meeting with their local president and chief negotiators, adding a ratification vote is currently being scheduled.
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