The Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) has reached new tentative agreements with local Catholic elementary, high school and occasional teachers.
The WCDSB and the Wellington Unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) announced the deals on Dec. 5, after “several spirited but cordial meetings held through November and early December,” according to a press release. No specific details of the agreements were released.
“In our view, it’s a good News story,” WCDSB Director of Education Don Drone told the Advertiser.
The board ratified the agreement at its meeting on Dec. 3 and OECTA elementary, secondary and occasional membership were expected to take ratification votes on Dec. 12 in meetings at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School.
“Particularly given the current environment provincially, we are pleased that we have worked together to reach an agreement on some substantive local matters,” said Wellington Unit OECTA President Jim Whitechurch.
The two-year deals cover local issues not included in the provincial memorandum of understanding signed in July between OECTA and the province, which Drone called a “very bizarre and unprecedented move” but also “good for students” as there have been no educational disruptions.
Drone explained the memorandum set the framework for all Catholic schools in the province, but each district had to have their own agreements in place by Dec. 31.
“We complied because we had no choice,” Drone said.
Much of the WCDSB settlement for elementary and secondary teachers was finalized late on Nov. 28, but one final legal issue was resolved on Dec. 3. An occasional teacher deal was reached on Dec. 3.
“This tentative agreement is indicative of the continuous educational service provided for students and families within the school district,” said Drone.
Unlike their public school counterparts, Catholic teachers did not cancel school trips and other extracurricular activities.
“To be honest, we’ve had labour peace since the beginning of school,” said Drone.
He said he doesn’t expect that to change, although a small section of WCDSB employees are represented by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), including clerical and technical staff, as well as educational assistants and some early childhood education workers.
