The union representing approximately 60,000 Ontario public secondary school teachers has agreed to continue contract talks with the province over the next two months.
Late Friday afternoon, a tentative agreement was announced between the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) and the provincial government, with the two sides agreeing to bargain until October 27.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce spoke from Queen's Park, confirming a tentative four-year deal with the OSSTF has been reached, and it will go forward for a ratification vote later this fall.
Any outstanding matters past the deadline will be sent to binding arbitration, when a neutral third party will make binding decisions on all unresolved matters, avoiding the need for a strike, Lecce said.
The province said it will also present the same deal to other teachers' unions early next week.
"To ensure stability across the entire education system, we are inviting all outstanding teacher unions to meet with the government as early as Monday to also enter into a tentative deal ahead of the start of school," said Lecce. "Let's get these deals done and let kids get back to learning in peace and with confidence.”
The news comes shortly after both OSSTF, and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) announced intentions to hold strike votes in September. The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) followed up earlier this week with a date for a strike vote in October.
Following Lecce's announcement, the other three unions representing Ontario's teachers said entering into binding arbitration is not something it can consider at their respective bargaining tables at this time.
"Entering into binding arbitration at this juncture would not support the students we serve in elementary and secondary schools – as binding arbitration would all but guarantee that the key issues we have brought forward at our respective bargaining tables, which are critical to learning and working conditions in our schools, would not be addressed," read a joint statement from the ETFO, OECTA, and the French-language public education system, Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens.
"Furthermore, the decision to enter into binding arbitration now impacts the opportunity for meaningful local bargaining on key local issues. We once again call on the government to respect our right to free and fair collective bargaining, and come to our bargaining tables prepared to engage in meaningful discussions about critical issues facing publicly funded education in Ontario."
Some issues brought up by the teachers' unions includes increased violence in schools, resources and supports for student mental health, teachers’ use of professional judgement, and addressing the teacher shortage.
Teachers across Ontario have been without contracts since last August. This agreement is the first after a year of negotiations.
