Niagara Catholic Elementary School teachers face lockout

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Negotiations between the Niagara Catholic District School Board and the union representing its elementary teachers are set to continue today after a lockout notice was issued Friday.

The board says it will lock out elementary teachers on March 20th if a deal isn’t reached with the Niagara elementary unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA).

Today, another meeting will be held with the assistance of a provincially-appointed mediator, the board says they are committed to reaching an agreement. The teachers have been working without a collective agreement since it expired on August 31st 2014.

Back in September, teachers began work-to-rule action, which the board says is disruptive to its close to 15,000 students. The two sides have been in collective agreement negotiations since February 2016 but they have not been able to reach an agreement.

The statement from the board issued Friday reads in part: “…given the lengthy impasse, which has made it impossible for the board to deliver the highest quality Catholic education experience our students deserve and expect, we believe this action is in the students’ best interests.”

The board also goes on to say that substantial progress has not been made despite there having been 21 meetings over the last 12 months. If there is a lockout, schools will remain open, but programming will be affected. Teachers will not be in the classroom, only administrative staff will be inside schools.

The board is expected to send a letter home to parents this week to provide an update on the possibility of a lockout. If there is a lockout, there will be a picket line, which, OECTA says may delay students and buses trying to get into the schools.

Marie Balanowski, President of the OECTA Niagara Elementary Unit says, “Our team is committed to continuing negotiations and see where they go.”
The board would not comment on the issues that will be brought forth today at the meeting, but with regards to teacher salaries, NCDSB Chair Father Paul MacNeil, provided the following numbers based on the old collective agreement; NCDSB elementary teachers’ starting salary ranges from $40,000-$70,000/year. After about 5 years, it sits around $71,000 and then tops out at $94,000 per year plus benefits.

OECTA and the board say the monetary items including salary, have already been settled provincially. Currently, non-monetary items are being discussed.