Franco-Ontarian teachers will not strike. Their union reached an agreement in principle with the Ford government and the Council of Employers’ Associations on Thursday.
The president of the Association of Franco-Ontarian Teachers (AEFO), Anne Vinet-Roy, believes that the union has “succeeded in demonstrating to the government and school boards that education in French must be recognized its fair value, that it must be financed equitably and that its particular needs must be taken into account.
Last December, the members of the AEFO board of directors accepted the appointment of a conciliator by the Ontario government to facilitate the negotiation process. The approximately 12,000 union members, whose collective agreement had expired since August 2022, then expressed themselves, in January, 93% in favor of a strike mandate.
The Ontario Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, then accused the AEFO of preventing “stability for students and families”. On Thursday, he welcomed the agreement, arguing that the government’s “sole objective” “has always been to ensure that children continue their learning in class, without the interruptions that a strike would cause,” he said. -he writes.
The details of the agreement remain confidential until AEFO members ratify it, in a vote whose date is still unknown.
“In connection with the agreement, but distinctly, the members of the AEFO […] will be granted 0.75% for the year 2019-2020, 0.75% for the year 2020-2021 and 2.75% for the year 2021-2022. Questions on remuneration for the period from 2022 to 2026 will be settled before a neutral arbitrator,” we can however read in a press release.
The union also “committed not to go on strike” during “local negotiations” of “part B of the collective agreements”, in order to “ensure stability for students and members a few months before the end of the school year.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.