Province and OSSTF reach tentative agreement

By news staff

The province has reached a tentative agreement with the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation.

In a statement released Monday, OSSTF president Harvey Bischof said their main priority during the talks was to protect the education system.

“With the support of the public and our members, we mounted a strong public awareness campaign that highlighted the government’s dangerous approach to education. As a result of our combined efforts, this government, although early in its term and holding a majority, was pushed back from some of its most egregious proposals,” he said.

“While this tentative agreement does not satisfy all of our concerns, we recognize the current environment we are in and the need for students to have stability once this emergency is over.”

Earlier this month the two sides returned to the bargaining table after only engaging in information talks since December.

However, talks had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said they will “remain focused on the government’s dual priority of keeping students safe while ensuring the continuity of education.”

“Our priority has always been to reach good deals with teachers’ and education workers’ unions, that advance the priorities of students and parents. That is exactly what we have done by reaching deals with every education union in this province,” Lecce said.

The union representing the province’s public high school teachers have been without a contract with the Ford government. The province had previously reached agreements with the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association and the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens.

Member ratification votes are tentatively planned for May.

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