(Toronto) Ontario public elementary school teachers have ratified an agreement with the provincial government.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) says its members voted 90 per cent in favor of the agreement, which lasts four years, starting on April 1er September 2022 until August 31, 2026.
The agreement must also be ratified by the Ontario Public School Boards Association to come into effect. A vote is planned for next week.
Under the agreement, the compensation of the union’s 80,000 substitute teachers will be subject to arbitration, as will the issue of retroactive salary increases.
According to ETFO, the agreement provides a solution for two of the three years of wage constraints under a law known as Bill 124, with the solution for the third year to be decided in arbitration.
ETFO President Karen Brown said that while the negotiations were “exceptionally long and difficult,” the agreement is proof that the process works when allowed to play out.
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said in a statement that he was pleased the agreement was ratified, “ensuring that 950,000 children will benefit from three stable years of school.”
The agreement came after more than a year of negotiations.