GUELPH – The Upper Grand District School Board has ratified collective agreements with five local unions.
The board announced in open session at the March 26 board meeting that it had ratified the contracts during a closed session immediately prior.
Agreements have been ratified with the following bargaining units:
- Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) – professional student services personnel;
- Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) – teachers;
- ETFO – occasional teachers;
- OSSTF District 18, educational student support personnel and registered/designated early childhood educators; and
- OSSTF – office, clerical and technical staff.
Larger issues like salaries are negotiated between the unions and the province in central bargaining.
ETFO reached a central agreement with the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association in December.
OSSTF and the province agreed in October to go to arbitration; that contract is still outstanding.
The local agreements focus on local issues such as job posting and staffing processes, bargaining unit seniority, performance appraisals, and local grievance processes.
The Upper Grand board had previously ratified collective agreements with two CUPE bargaining units: Local 256, custodial and maintenance and Local 256, ESL.
The agreements cover the period from Sept. 1, 2022, to Aug. 31, 2026.
“I am pleased that we have reached agreements and have ratified local terms with these employee groups,” said Upper Grand board chair Ralf Mesenbrink.
“We look forward to seeing tentative local agreements with our remaining employee groups in the very near future, completing this round of negotiations.”
Director of Education Peter Sovran added, “We are deeply committed to fostering strong, collaborative relationships with our valued staff across all unions.
“By working together, we ensure that every decision we make puts our students at the centre of everything we do.”
The board still has outstanding contracts with OSSTF teachers and occasional teachers.
“We look forward to those two agreements being ratified in the near future,” said spokesperson Heather Loney.
