Ontario has reached a tentative central agreement with the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Education Workers.
“From day one, my focus has been keeping kids in class. 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,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce said in a written statement.
“This is the latest in a series of significant agreements that help ensure kids stay in class, learning with their friends and educators, and benefiting from our back to basics focus,” the statement added.
“While we are making progress, we are again urging all remaining teacher unions to come to the table and sign a deal that ensures children benefit from uninterrupted learning for the next three years, with an enhanced focus on strengthening reading, writing, and math skills,” Lecce stated.
Details of the agreement will be shared with ETFO education worker members after a meeting is held with their local presidents and chief negotiators, the teacher . A ratification vote is being scheduled; details of the vote will be shared with members once they are confirmed.
“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,” ETFO President Karen Brown said. “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.”
The tentative central agreement reached is for ETFO’s 3,500 education workers. An agreement has not yet been reached for ETFO’s 80,000 teacher and occasional teacher members.
While central strike votes for teacher and occasional teacher members continue, central strike votes for education worker members will not be proceeding.
ETFO bargains at two central tables: the Teacher/Occasional Teacher Central Table (on behalf of approximately 80,000 teachers) and the Education Worker Central Table (on behalf of approximately 3,500 designated early childhood educators, education support personnel, and professional support personnel).
Last month, the province announced a tentative agreement on a process with both the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) teachers and OSSTF Education Workers that would keep their students in class where they belong.
