Public high school teachers in Ontario voted in favour of an agreement between the province and the union that would avoid a strike through voluntary binding arbitration. The OSSTF met with the province in late August and reached a bargaining agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, if a collective agreement could not be reached by October 27, a third-party arbitrator would be appointed to make final decisions on outstanding issues.
The members, including education workers and teachers, had the opportunity to vote on the offer from Sept. 7 to Sept 27th. The proposal was approved by the OSSTF with over 78 per cent support. The approved offer ensures there will be no strike or lockouts while the OSSTF is at the table with the province in this round of negotiations. Anything that cannot be agreed on will be sent to the arbitrator.
Less than a week ago, the province came to an agreement with 3,500 members of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (“ETFO”) (opens in new tab), but an agreement has yet to be reached with the union’s 80,000 full-time and part-time members.
