Catholic teachers’ union to resume bargaining Wednesday

Ontario’s English Catholic teachers will return to the bargaining table this week but are also planning more strikes if they can’t reach a deal.

Contract talks between the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) and the government broke down in January. The union and province have only had one day of talks since then.

The OECTA Provincial Bargaining Team will meet with the government at the request of the Ministry of Labour-appointed mediator on Wednesday.

The union says if a deal is not reached this week, members will participate in rotating full withdrawals of service the week of February 24. OECTA says the strike will target each board one day.

“Teachers and education workers across the province are united, and the public are firmly behind us,” says OECTA President Liz Stuart in a news release. “Everyone is saying we do not support the Ford government’s destructive agenda for publicly funded education, and everyone knows the solution is for the government to back away from their reckless cuts and come up with a real plan to reach a fair agreement. But the government still is not listening. All we can do is continue to demonstrate our determination and solidarity.”

Education Minister Stephen Lecce says in a statement that the government is ready to negotiate a deal that keeps students in class.

“Students belong in class. My objective has always been to reach deals with our education labour partners – deals that are fair to students, hard-working parents, and our valued teachers and education workers,” said Lecce. “I am pleased the mediator has called all parties back to the negotiating table, as we have always said, we stand ready to negotiate to reach a deal that keeps students in class.”

The government has demonstrated our commitment to reaching a deal by affirming our commitment to maintaining all-day kindergarten, investing in special education needs, and keeping classroom sizes low.”

All four major teachers’ unions have been staging strikes as contract talks with the province have made little progress.

A province-wide strike is set to take place on Friday and will see about two million students out of class.

Here is a look ahead at what Catholic school boards will be affecting next week if a deal is not reached.

Monday, February 24
Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board
Niagara Catholic District School Board
Northwest Catholic District School Board
St. Clair Catholic District School Board
Toronto Catholic District School Board
Waterloo Catholic District School Board

Tuesday, February 25
Durham Catholic District School Board
Halton Catholic District School Board
Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board
Kenora Catholic District School Board
Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board
Ottawa Catholic District School Board
Peterborough VNC Catholic District School Board
Sudbury Catholic District School Board
Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board

Thursday, February 27
Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board
Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board
Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
Northeastern Catholic District School Board
Renfrew County Catholic District School Board
Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board
Superior North Catholic District School Board

Friday, February 28
Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario
Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board
London District Catholic School Board
York Catholic District School Board
Wellington Catholic District School Board
Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board