Ontario Marks Significant Milestone by Reaching Tentative Agreement with English Catholic Teachers

Students will continue learning in their classrooms where they belong

The Voice of Chandigarh :

Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, issued the following statement:

“I am pleased to announce that we have reached a tentative central agreement with the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), that, if ratified, ensures no province-wide teacher job action or strikes in all English-language Catholic publicly funded schools for the next three years.

For the first time in nearly a generation, Ontario’s government successfully negotiated deals with all teacher unions that averted strikes or the withdrawal of services. We fulfilled our promise to Ontario families: to deliver peace and stability to students, as we get back-to-basics in Ontario classrooms.

By keeping children learning in-class with the full school experience of extracurricular activities, sports, and clubs, we are restoring a much-needed focus on academics and protecting important routine for kids.

Over two million students will now benefit from three more years of uninterrupted learning in the classroom as we focus on improving fundamental skills in reading, writing and math.”

On background:

• The OECTA tentative agreement applies to more than 36,500 teachers employed by an English Catholic publicly funded school board in Ontario.
• Previously, central agreements have been reached with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) teachers and education workers, the Ontario Council of Educational Workers (OCEW), the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) teachers and education workers.
• Ontario remains in ongoing discussions with the Education Workers’ Alliance of Ontario (EWAO).