July 7, 2022
NOTE: THE CONTENT OF OECTA PROVINCIAL BARGAINING UPDATES IS CONFIDENTIAL TO
MEMBERS. PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THIS INFORMATION OR POST IT ONLINE.
First Provincial Bargaining Date Set
OECTA, the Government of Ontario, and the Ontario
Catholic School Trustees’ Association (OCSTA) will
meet on Thursday, July 21 to begin bargaining for
the renewal of our collective agreement.
The purpose of this meeting is:
• for the sides to establish the ground rules for negotiations; and
• to begin discussions to determine which issues will be negotiated centrally, and which will be negotiated between local units and school boards.
Future dates will be communicated to members via Provincial Bargaining Update, as necessary, to ensure that
members are kept apprised of critical information.
As you are well aware, your working conditions are our students’ learning conditions. The collective bargaining
process is one of the essential ways by which we, as Catholic teachers, work to defend and improve those
conditions, achieving better classroom outcomes for our students, families, and communities.
Government officials, including Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Stephen Lecce, have made
intentionally provocative statements about the status of bargaining and in relation to the start of the next school year. They may continue to do so throughout the bargaining process. When seeing or hearing these comments from the government in the media, do not forget that it was teachers who protected students from dramatic class size increases and four mandatory e-learning classes, measures that the Ford government wanted to impose.
Please remember that we are just at the start of what can be a lengthy process, and that we will proceed, one
step at a time, together.