On Monday, OPSEU/SEFPO and the other education unions met at the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) for mediation.

The purpose of the mediation was to see if it was possible to reach a settlement in our dispute over the scope of central bargaining. 

Before we can start bargaining on the priority issues that you all identified, we must have clarity on what issues will be negotiated centrally and what will be negotiated by local unions.

During mediation on Monday, we remained committed to defending the rights of our locals to negotiate important issues. Throughout the day it became clear that it would not be possible to reach a settlement.

Therefore, what will happen next is that the Vice-Chair of the OLRB who heard our arguments will provide us with a decision.

We expect that their decision will be released very soon, hopefully within the next two weeks. This will allow us to get to the bargaining table and present our proposals.

Future Bargaining Dates

In anticipation of a decision by the OLRB on scope of central bargaining, our Central bargaining committee has agreed to the following bargaining dates:

• November 25
• December 7 & 8 

We are eager to start negotiating on the issues that matter most to you, including improving staffing levels, wages, benefits, job security, as well as health and safety protections.

Strike Pledge Reminder

We are currently conducting a membership-wide strike vote pledge in order to demonstrate our strength and unity.

This is a critical step for you to confirm that you will join your co-workers – on strike if necessary – to win a fair contract and increased funding.

Collective action is the most powerful tool we have to get solutions to our core issues such as understaffing, workloads, and violence.