Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the tentative deal with education workers represents a 4.2 per cent increase for the lowest-paid workers making $39,000 a year.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Ontario’s Education Minister says negotiations with teachers’ unions are progressing well, one day after the government and education workers averted a strike with a tentative deal.
Stephen Lecce says talks with the teachers’ unions have progressed throughout the summer and fall, but details will remain scarce as both sides have opted for confidentiality in negotiations.
Schools across Ontario were open Monday after a weekend of talks between the government and education workers secured a tentative contract.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees announced Sunday evening that it had a tentative deal and its 55,000 education worker members – including education assistants, librarians and custodians – would be on the job Monday, instead of going on strike.
The four-year deal comes with a $1-per-hour raise each year, or about 3.59 per cent annually.
Mr. Lecce says the deal represents a 4.2 per cent increase for the lowest-paid education workers making $39,000 per year.