The province and teacher unions have yet to agree on what items will be bargained this summer, but have scheduled more dates to hammer out the issues.
“Although some progress was achieved, agreement was not reached on either central list during this week’s sessions,” the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario said in a bulletin sent Friday to members, obtained by the Star, referring to issues for the provincial negotiating tables for both the teacher and educational workers it represents.
The dates for contract talks between education unions, the council representing directors of education and the province have been settled for July. All existing collective agreements expire at the end of August.
The elementary teachers’ union and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association will bargain again on July 6, the Star has learned, while the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation will return to the table on Monday to negotiate for education workers and Tuesday for teachers and occasional teachers.
All education unions remain in the early stages of talks, but teachers and support staff have said their priorities are class sizes, improving special education resources and addressing violence in schools, as well as pay raises.
There is no agreement yet on the central list between the elementary teachers’ bargaining team and Ontario; this list defines what items, such as salary and working conditions, will be bargained provincially, versus the more administrative issues discussed by union locals and individual boards.
Under the province’s two-tiered bargaining system in education, the central list must be settled on before bargaining can begin in earnest.
The elementary teachers’ bulletin notice said the “team remains committed to protecting meaningful local bargaining as discussions continue.”
The elementary teachers’ union resumes talks July 6, 20 and 31 for teachers and occasional teachers, and July 7, 29 and 30 for its education workers, including early childhood educators.
The next string of meetings for the Catholic teachers’ association will iron out the ground rules of the negotiation as it looks to renew its central terms, its message to members said.
“We are hopeful to engage in positive and collaborative discussions,” it wrote. The union has scheduled three more bargaining dates in July.
The Ontario secondary teachers’ union has agreed on the ground rules and has started to figure out the split between the “centrally” negotiated items and local terms, it said in a June 17 email to members.
Earlier this month, education unions announced they were filing formal notices to kick-start bargaining. They represent more than 255,000 members, who include teachers, speech language pathologists, educational assistants and other support staff.
At that announcement, David Mastin, president of the elementary teachers’ federation, described the situation as “dire,” echoing sentiments that the current challenges schools are facing have been building for years.
Education Minister Paul Calandra has previously told reporters he is “quite optimistic” about the talks adding, however, that “there will be some tough negotiations.”
All education contracts expire at the end of August, and while it is rare for collective agreements to be reached before the school year starts, teacher unions have said special education resources in particular need to be addressed as soon as possible.
