News Labour Relations
Ontario public high school teachers vote for arbitration to settle bargaining dispute.

Public high school teachers in Ontario have voted to settle unresolved issues at the bargaining table through arbitration, avoiding the potential for a strike.

After more than a year of stalled negotiations, members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) voted 78.4% in favour of resolving their bargaining dispute with the province.

“After a three-week long vote, open to all members in the school board sector, we have voted to approve a proposal that will put all unresolved items before an independent, third-party arbitrator,” said Karen Littlewood, president of the OSSTF/FEESO.

Littlewood criticized the provincial government, saying they “haven’t had a partner at the table that cares about safeguarding our public education system.” Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the move by OSSTF members is  a significant step forward to providing stability for high school students. The other three major teacher unions in Ontario have, to date, rejected the idea of using binding arbitration.

Central bargaining discussions for the two OSSTF/FEESO groups — Teacher/Occasional Teacher and Education Workers — will continue until Oct. 27, the union said. Any unresolved issues at that point will be forwarded to an arbitrator. Similarly, local bargaining across Ontario is scheduled to proceed until March 28, 2024. Remaining unsettled items at that time may also be subject to arbitration, it said.

The proposal also establishes a path for recovering wages lost under the Ford government’s Bill 124, which has been criticized as unconstitutional wage suppression legislation, the union said.

Littlewood added, “After 5 years of underfunding and underspending under the Ford administration, our top priority is to get the best possible deal for OSSTF/FEESO members while working to protect public education in Ontario.” She attributed deteriorating learning conditions and staffing issues to years of underfunding by the current government.