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The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board and its 500 high school teachers announced a tentative labor agreement on Friday.
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A press release said an agreement was reached Thursday with the Windsor-Essex unit of the Ontario Catholic Teachers Association of English after several months of negotiations.
The tentative agreement covers local terms for WECDSB secondary teachers. Details will not be released until the agreement has been ratified by board members and union members.
In March 2020, the Ministry of Education finalized an agreement covering core terms for all Ontario teachers.
“This is a fair agreement for both the board and our high school teachers,” Emelda Byrne, Director of Education, said in a press release. “It is a fiscally responsible contract that recognizes the current circumstances in which we are currently operating, but also the contributions of these valued employees to our students and their families.”
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Joe Brannagan, president of OECTA’s Windsor-Essex unit, also backed the deal.
“We are satisfied with this new agreement,” Brannagan said in a press release. “It includes some important achievements for our members and we will stand behind it when we present it to you for endorsement.”
The union will conduct an electronic ratification vote before the end of November, Brannagan said. The board’s trustees are expected to ratify the agreement at a meeting in early December. The board has already approved agreements with its 750 elementary teachers in March 2021 and with its 350 occasional teachers in January 2021.
Reference-windsorstar.com