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12 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 19, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com A tale of two contracts for Halton's school boards By Tim Whitnell SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER While Halton's Catholic school board elementary teachers have a new tentative labour contract, their counterparts at the Halton public board have yet to begin negotiations. The Halton Catholic District School Board and the Halton elementary unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) reached a tentative settlement covering the more than 1,000 Catholic elementary teachers who teach in Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville on Sept. 5. "The board is very pleased to have reached this tentative agreement with our elementary teachers," Alice Anne LeMay, chair of the Halton Catholic board, said in a press release. "I commend the members of both negotiating parties for their diligence and commitment to work together to achieve an agreement that is in accordance with the provi- sions of the provincial framework," she added. "An excellent working environment makes for an excellent learning environment and this agreement, salary and benefits aside, will enhance the working environment of all our teachers, which will have a positive and direct impact on all our students," said Richard Brock, president of the Halton Elementary Unit of OECTA. The tentative agreement, which runs from Sept. 1, 2008 to Aug. 31, 2012, will not be put to a ratification vote by both the board of trustees and the elementary teachers union until a tentative agreement is reached with the Halton Catholic board's secondary and occasional teachers' unions. That's because the Halton Catholic board is one of many across the province that agreed to abide by a provincial framework agreement. Sponsored by the Ministry of Education, it is an effort by the min- istry to joint bargain with as many boards as possible on a variety of issues and concerns common to each board and its unions, and an attempt to reach longer agreements with unions for labour stability. The ministry has set a deadline of Nov. 30, 2008 for Ontario school boards and their unions to ratify contracts under the framework, in order to take advantage of the process. Patricia MacNeil, a spokesperson the ministry, said that among the features of the framework deal are four-year contracts offering three per cent increases to workers each year. Since teachers can earn wage increases in two ways, through annual contractual boosts and personal professional development, a teacher working within a deal struck under the provincial framework could earn three per cent for each criterion, or six per cent annually, over four years. However, under the framework agreement union benefits will be frozen until at least 2010. MacNeil noted the ministry has already received authority to provide boards that do not reach provincial framework agreements with just two per cent annual salary increases for the next two years. The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), which represents more than 73,000 public elementary teachers, occasional teachers and education workers, did not agree to become involved in the provincial framework process. Halton's public school board elementary teachers are members of ETFO. A senior administrator with the board said they are just getting started on talks with all of their teachers unions. Dawn Beckett-Morton, the Halton board's executive officer of human resources and a contract negotiator, said they were to meet with the elementary teacher union reps for the first time on Wednesday (Sept. 17) and with secondary school reps yesterday (Thursday). The ETFO's president explained the association's rationale for opting out of the provincial framework process. "The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario will not sign a long-term collective agreement that does not ensure fairness for elementary students," David Clegg said in a notice on the ETFO's website. "Salary is not the issue; it was never the issue. Our Close the Gap campaign is about ensuring that all elementary students have the same level of support and learning opportunities as secondary students." Clegg says government figures show that the education ministry currently provides $711 less per year for an elementary student than for a high school student. "The federation will not return to the provincial discussion table under the threat of an ultimatum or deadline," he said, referring to the Nov. 30 date. 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