OPSBA and government walk away from central bargaining table
For Immediate Release – September 11, 2015
Toronto, ON – This afternoon, the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) and the government walked away from talks with the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) at the teacher and occasional teacher central bargaining table.
OPSBA and the government refused to continue discussions after seven lengthy days of bargaining.
“We’re shocked at this development,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond. “ETFO members have been working without a collective agreement for over a year. Although progress during our discussions was proceeding at a very slow pace, ETFO was prepared to put in the time necessary to reach a fair central agreement. It appears the other parties were not prepared to do the same.”
ETFO asked for other dates to continue discussions, but OPSBA and the government refused to provide further dates.
“ETFO will be consulting with our local presidents on Monday to discuss next steps, given that the government and OPSBA have walked away from central bargaining,” stated President Hammond.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents 78,000 elementary public school teachers, occasional teachers and education professionals across the province.
For more information, contact:
Valerie Dugale, ETFO Media Relations:
_______________________________________________