TORONTO–Bargaining unit presidents of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) have voted 96 percent in favour of an agreement with the Ontario government related to changes to imposed working conditions. This vote took place at a meeting of local leaders held today in Toronto.
“This agreement is the result of a prolonged struggle by our members for their democratic collective bargaining rights,” said Ken Coran, president of OSSTF/FEESO. “In order to achieve these improvements, OSSTF/FEESO representatives were able to find efficiencies in the funding to school boards that will result in real financial savings that can be re-allocated and not add to the current funding provided by the Ministry of Education.”
“With the changes in process and personnel, OSSTF/FEESO proposals first made last spring, have now been taken seriously and produced results,” Mr. Coran continued. “Now our members will have an opportunity to have their voices heard through a province-wide vote on this agreement.”
Members will participate in a provincial vote on the agreement, which will conclude on Thursday, April 18, 2013.
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.
