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
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton dead following prison attack
Convicted B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, who preyed on women he lured from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his rural pig farm, has died.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
DND moving 1,000 employees out of Ottawa office building due to safety concerns
The Department of National Defence is moving approximately 1,000 employees out of an office building in Ottawa's Lowertown neighbourhood, citing safety concerns for its employees.
Baby dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to woman who was in police custody
A newborn is dead after being delivered via emergency C-section to a woman in police custody.
Jennifer Lopez cancels summer tour: 'I am completely heartsick and devastated'
Jennifer Lopez has cancelled her 2024 North American tour, representatives for Live Nation confirmed to The Associated Press.
Fast food chain value deals ramp up in the United States: What does it mean for Canada?
After years of price increases and a decline in customers, fast food chains in the United States are competing with each other and offering value deals in hopes of bringing more foot traffic into their establishments.
This Calgary home has a giant tree in the middle, and it's for sale
There's a luxury 'tree home' for sale in Calgary.
2 children among 5 people hospitalized after head-on crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa's west end
Two young children and three adults were seriously injured in a major collision on Highway 417 between Palladium Drive and Carp Road in Ottawa's west end Friday afternoon.
Marian Robinson, mother of Michelle Obama, dies at 86
Marian Shields Robinson, the mother of Michelle Obama who moved with the first family to the White House when son-in-law Barack Obama was elected president, has died. She was 86.