OECTA Teachers Vote 94% in Favour of Local Agreement

First Two Local Agreements Ratified By Members

TORONTO, Dec. 11, 2012 /CNW/ - Teachers in two local units of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting locally negotiated provisions of their collective agreements.

• Bruce-Grey Elementary Unit members voted 94 per cent in favour
• London District Occasional Teachers' Bargaining Unit voted 93 per cent in favour

"This agreement addresses issues in a meaningful way for our members," says Anna Morrison, Bruce-Grey Elementary Unit president. "We had a great turn-out for the vote and members are pleased that we were able to negotiate some local improvements to our collective agreement."

These are the first two ratification votes to be taken by local OECTA units that have reached tentative agreements with their school boards. Ratification votes on tentative local agreements in several more OECTA units will be held in the coming days. Other OECTA units continue to bargain local issues with school boards and more tentative agreements are expected before the December 31, 2012 deadline.

"This is good news for our local OECTA members and their communities," says Kevin O'Dwyer, president of OECTA. "For units to achieve local improvements in this environment speaks to solid and respectful labour relations that can be realized in the future as well."

Local negotiated agreements cover local issues that are outside of the parameters agreed to in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which the Association signed with the government on July 5, 2012. All locally negotiated agreements require ratification by the local membership.

For more information and to watch OECTA's video on our extraordinary teachers, visit www.oecta.on.ca

OECTA represents the 43,000 professional women and men who teach all grades in publicly funded English Catholic schools in Ontario.

 

SOURCE: Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association

Contact: Michelle Despault, Director of Communications
416-925-2493 ext 509, [email protected]