OSSTF, province reach tentative agreement

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation's (OSSTF/FEESO) bargaining unit presidents voted 96 in favour of an agreement with the province related to changes to imposed working conditions, according to a news release.

This vote took place at a meeting of local leaders held Thursday in Toronto.

“This agreement is the result of a prolonged struggle by our members for their democratic collective bargaining rights,” said Ken Coran, president of OSSTF/FEESO, in the press release. “In order to achieve these improvements, OSSTF/FEESO representatives were able to find efficiencies in the funding to school boards that will result in real financial savings that can be re-allocated and not add to the current funding provided by the Ministry of Education.

“With the changes in process and personnel, OSSTF/FEESO proposals first made last spring, have now been taken seriously and produced results. Now our members will have an opportunity to have their voices heard through a provincewide vote on this agreement.”

Members will now participate in a provincial vote on the agreement, which will conclude on April 18.

Liz Sandals, Minister of Education, said the agreement is a clear indication of the hard work that all parties are putting in to reaffirm and reinvigorate our partnership and our commitment to Ontario's students.

“The agreement resolves ongoing concerns across a number of areas while staying within the ministry's funding envelope. The idea of living within the existing funding envelope for education was by no means an impediment to our agreement today. Instead, it was a catalyst for innovative thinking, collaborative problem-solving and the renewal of our proud partnership with Ontario's public high school teachers.

“Both sides showed a willingness to seek common ground in support of our common goal — higher levels of student achievement. The result is an agreement that is fair for taxpayers, federation members and school boards, but the most important beneficiaries are Ontario's students.”