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Labour Relations

It is OPSBA’s goal to negotiate fair and equitable collective agreements through the collective bargaining process. Our priority continues to be the improvement of student achievement and well-being. That remains the focus of our bargaining.

Collective Bargaining: Background

Collective Bargaining Status Updates

*as of January 10, 2024

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF)

OPSBA received Notice to Bargain from OSSTF on June 6, 2022. On August 25, 2022, OSSTF, OPSBA and the Crown reached an agreement on matters to be bargained centrally for OSSTF Teachers.

On August 11, 2023, OSSTF announced to its members that it was preparing to hold a strike vote, as early as fall 2023.

On August 25,  it was announced that OPSBA, the CTA, OSSTF and the Crown, had reached a tentative agreement that would establish a process to conclude the current round of central and local collective bargaining. This agreement applies to both the OSSTF-Teacher/Occasional Teachers and OSSTF-Education Workers.

On September 27, it was announced that the agreement was approved by all parties. Central bargaining continued within the defined timeframe until October 27. Following that time frame, outstanding items were referred to an Interest Arbitration process, which will take place in 2024. As part of this Agreement, there will be no strikes, lock-outs, labour disruptions or work stoppages at either a central or local level.

OSSTF Education Workers

The CTA received Notice to Bargain from OSSTF Education Workers on June 6, 2022. On August 25, OSSTF-EW, the Council of Trustees’ Associations (CTA) and the Crown reached an agreement on matters to be bargained centrally for OSSTF Education Workers.

On August 25,  it was announced that OPSBA, the CTA, OSSTF and the Crown, had reached a tentative agreement that would establish a process to conclude the current round of central and local collective bargaining. This agreement applies to both the OSSTF-Teacher/Occasional Teachers and OSSTF-Education Workers.

On September 27, it was announced that the agreement was approved by all parties. Central bargaining continued within the defined timeframe until October 27. Following that time frame, outstanding items were referred to an Interest Arbitration process, which will take place in 2024. As part of this Agreement, there will be no strikes, lock-outs, labour disruptions or work stoppages at either a central or local level.

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO)

OPSBA received Notice to Bargain from ETFO on June 13, 2022. Initial meetings have have occurred.

On August 14, 2023, ETFO announced that it is preparing to hold a strike vote in September and October 2023. On October 18, ETFO announced that 95% of members had voted to support strike action.

On August 29, ETFO informed OPSBA and the Crown that they would be filing an application for concilitation with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. This means a conciliation officer will be appointed to assist the parties.

On November 21, OPSBA was pleased to announce that the Association and the provincial government had successfully negotiated a tentative settlement on central terms of a collective agreement with the ETFO Teachers. On December 19, OPSBA announced that it had ratified the agreement with ETFO Teachers / Occasional Teachers. The ratification process is now complete.

News Release: OPSBA ratifies agreement reached with ETFO Teachers

ETFO Education Workers

The CTA received Notice to Bargain from ETFO Education Workers on June 13, 2022. On September 8, ETFO-EW, the Council of Trustees’ Associations (CTA) and the Crown reached an agreement on matters to be bargained centrally for ETFO Education Workers.

On September 22, OPSBA was pleased to announce that the Council of Trustees’ Associations/School Board Associations (CTA) and the provincial government had successfully negotiated a tentative settlement on central terms of a collective agreement with the ETFO Education Workers.

On October 23, OPSBA announced that it had ratified the agreement with ETFO Education Workers. The ratification process is now complete.

News Release: OPSBA ratifies agreement reached with ETFO Education Workers

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

The CTA received Notice to Bargain from CUPE on June 3, 2022.

On October 3, CUPE announced the results of its member strike vote, with 96.5% of its 45,433 members voting yes. On October 7, CUPE asked the conciliation officer assisting the parties for a “no-board” report.

On October 14, The Council of Trustees’ Associations, The Crown, and CUPE agreed to enter into private mediation in an effort to reach a collective agreement.

On October 30, CUPE served notice that it planned to commence a strike involving a full withdrawal of services on Friday, November 4, 2022, if no agreement was reached before then. The Crown, through Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, indicated later that day that the government would introduce legislation on October 31, which, if no other agreement was reached, would seek to prevent a CUPE strike from occurring and impose the offer presented on October 30. Later on October 31, CUPE announced it intended to strike on November 4 regardless of the legislation.

On November 3, mediation with the the Council of Trustees’ Association, the Crown and CUPE ended with no agreement having been reached. The Government’s Bill 28, Keeping Students in Class Act, 2022, was passed and signed into law on November 3. This legislation imposed central terms and rolls over the local terms of all CUPE collective agreements in the education sector. CUPE’s 55,000 education worker members participated in a strike on November 4 and 7. However, on November 7, Premier Ford announced that the government would rescind the Keeping Students in Class Act, which occurred on November 14. As a result, CUPE advised their members they should return to work on November 8. The imposed central terms and rolled over local terms of all CUPE collective agreements will no longer be in effect.

On November 16, CUPE once again served notice that it planned to commence a strike involving a full withdrawal of services on November 21. Bargaining continued until November 20, when a tentative agreement was announced by all parties.

CUPE announced on December 5, 2022, that its membership voted to accept the tentative agreement. Members of the Council of Trustees’ Associations (OPSBA, the Association des conseils scolaires des écoles publiques de l’Ontario [ACÉPO], Association franco-ontarienne des conseils scolaires catholiques [AFOCSC] and Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association [OCSTA]) announced that they had ratified the tentative agreement on December 23.

News Release: OPSBA ratifies agreement reached with CUPE

Ontario Council of Education Workers (OCEW)

The CTA received Notice to Bargain from OCEW on July 19, 2022.

On December 11, it was announced that that the Council of Trustees’ Associations/School Board Associations (CTA) and the provincial government had successfully negotiated a tentative settlement on central terms of a collective agreement with OCEW. Twelve OPSBA boards have membership in OCEW. OPSBA, in conjunction with the Council of Trustees‘ Associations, and with approval from the Crown, announced on January 26 that it had ratified the tentative agreement that was reached with the Ontario Council of Educational Workers (OCEW) on December 10, 2022.

News Release: OPSBA ratifies agreement reached with OCEW

Education Workers’ Alliance of Ontario (EWAO)

The CTA received Notice to Bargain from EWAO on July 5, 2022. Five OPSBA boards have membership in EWAO. Issues bargaining continues.


School Boards Collective Bargaining Act (SBCBA) Review

OPSBA, along with the three other school board/trustee associations, gave a joint submission to the Standing Committee on General Government regarding Bill 92, School Boards Collective Bargaining Amendment Act, 2017, on March 8, 2017. This followed a letter to Minister Mitzie Hunter on Feb. 10, 2017, outlining school board concerns with respect to a number of issues related to the SBCBA.

Stakeholder Consultation Summary

Following the conclusion of the first round of bargaining under the SBCBA, the government consulted with its partners in order to review the Act to see if there were improvements that could be made to the process. On July 4, 2016, the Minister of Education publicly released the summary of those consultations.