Ontario teachers reach agreement with provincial government
So far, the government has only reached an agreement with elementary school teachers.
The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has reached a tentative agreement for its 80,000 teachers after 14 months of negotiations.
Details of the agreement will be shared with teachers on Thursday, November 23, following a meeting with representatives and negotiators. A ratification vote is scheduled for the same day: information on the vote will be communicated to participants as soon as it is confirmed.
"With the assistance of the conciliator appointed by the Minister of Labour, ETFO was able to reach a tentative agreement that, we believe, meets the needs of our teacher and occasional teacher members. We’re pleased with the improvements that we were able to secure during negotiations," commented union president Karen Brown.
Provincial Education Minister Stephen Lecce also confirmed the agreement on social media:
"This agreement brings us one step closer to ensuring there will be no province-wide job actions or strikes in all English-language public schools for the next three years."
In October, Federation members voted to strike if they could not find common ground with government officials.
Meanwhile, other Ontario secondary school educators continue to argue with the province. Ontario's Catholic and French-speaking teachers are still negotiating with Doug Ford's government.
On Nov. 23, an indefinite strike of education workers will begin in Ontario's neighboring province of Quebec.
