TORONTO, ON – May 08 2019 — The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) is concerned that the Ford government has only scheduled one hour to meet on May 13 for each of the two provincial bargaining tables. The Federation served notice to bargain on April 29, which was the earliest possible date to do so under the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act (SBCBA).
Under the Act, the parties must meet within 15 days of the notice to bargain. The Minister of Education has chosen to convene this meeting on the last possible date under the Act.
“Our concern is that the Minister has publicly stated that she wanted to ‘start early, good faith bargaining’,” said Harvey Bischof, President of OSSTF/FEESO. “By only scheduling one hour meetings to start the negotiating process, the Minister is signaling to us that she is not ready to have meaningful conversations to move us toward a fair and timely agreement.”
OSSTF/FEESO represents teachers and support staff working in publicly funded schools across the province. Under the SBCBA, separate provincial bargaining tables are established for teachers and for support staff. Two meetings will occur between OSSTF/FEESO, the Ministry of Education and representatives from Ontario’s school boards on May 13.
“The Minister’s slow response to our notice to bargain, and scheduling only one hour to engage in negotiations is both perplexing and troubling,” continued Bischof. “Rather than setting aside more significant blocks of time to start bargaining, the government seems to be delaying the process. We remain prepared to negotiate. Our hope is that the Ford government will be more eager to engage in honest, purposeful bargaining soon.”
OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.