Three teachers' unions reject Ontario's proposal to land new contracts and avoid strike
Unions representing most Ontario teachers are rejecting a pitch for binding arbitration to land new contracts and prevent possible strikes.
On Friday, the government and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) announced a plan to head to arbitration if a negotiated contract agreement can't be reached by Oct. 27.
OSSTF members still have to approve the process.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce had hoped the other unions would sign on to what he called an "incredibly fair, reasonable student-focused proposal."
But in a joint statement, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) and the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontarien (AEFO) said it's not something they can consider at the moment."
"What's been proposed for OSSTF wouldn't work for us," OECTA president René Jansen in de Wal told CTV Toronto Saturday.
"(Arbitration can be effective in the right place. But it would narrow the tables of issues...and we have critical issues that matter for our students and quality of the classrooms we have."
ETFO President Karen Brown agrees an arbitrator isn't best suited to resolve many of their members' concerns.
"We have issues around violence in the classroom, issues around hiring. These are issues where the government has to actually make those decisions and requires extensive talk and negotiations," Brown said.
Lecce explains the arbitration pitch still leaves lots of room for "spirited discussions at the bargaining table" through Oct. 27.
"But for those outstanding issues that we may not be able to reach, we now have a credible, independent, third party, interest arbitration system that can bring forth a resolution and a settlement that keeps kids in class," Lecce said Saturday.
ETFO, OSSTF, and OECTA have scheduled strike votes in September and October to gauge support of job action and to add pressure to the bargaining process.
AEFO's president said last week the union was evaluating its options.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.