After working for a year without a contract, members of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario finally reached an agreement with the Greater Essex County District School Board.
The two sides reached the tentative deal in virtual talks on Tuesday night.
Greater Essex Local President Mario Spagnuolo told BlackburnNews.com details of the new contract will not be made public until the union can meet with members in late August or early September.
"It's just because it's the summer. In the summer, a lot of people may not be available," he explained. "We're going to share our information when people are back and ready to go. It maximizes the members that can participate in the process."
Spagnuolo said the bargaining team was impressed with the level of collaboration with the board.
The previous contract expired on August 31, 2019.
The Greater Essex local of the Elementary Teachers Federation represents about 1,500 public elementary school teachers.
ETFO reached a deal with the province back in April. About 97 per cent of teachers and occasional teachers approved the central agreement and 94 per cent of education workers.
The central deal preserved special education funding, elementary class sizes, and the one-to-one ratio of teachers to early childhood education workers in kindergarten classrooms. Proposed education funding cuts of $150 million at the elementary level were scrapped.
