The Canadian Press
Allison Jones
TORONTO–Ontario’s English Catholic teachers have ratified an agreement to extend their contracts past the next provincial election.
Members of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association voted 87 percent in favour of the two-year extension, which gives them four percent in raises and gives the Liberal government labour peace ahead of the June, 2018 vote.
The deal also allocates $67 million over the two years for hiring more teachers.
Teachers’ and education workers’ contracts were set to expire this August, and OECTA becomes the third major education union to ratify extensions to August, 2019.
Ontario’s French teachers and education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees also have voted in favour of similar deals.
Elementary teachers, high school teachers, and other support staff all have reached tentative deals with the government, but have not yet ratified them.
The last round of negotiations with the education unions saw support staff and elementary teachers staging work-to-rule campaigns and the government threatening to dock their pay.
Details of various contracts either made public or leaked include four percent in raises over the two years, as well as a 0.5-percent lump sum payment.
Their benefits also are set to rise by four percent each year of the deal.
CUPE’s deal also included a commitment from the government to invest $115 million over the two years in special education and hiring office, clerical, technical, and custodial workers.
The tentative deal for the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario included a commitment from the government to invest $89 million over the two years for school boards to hire special education teachers and for occasional teachers’ professional development, early-years special education support, and support for indigenous students, at-risk students, and English-language learners.
ETFO’s deal also includes an agreement from the government to cap full-day kindergarten classes at 30 students next year and 29 the year after.
