High School Teachers in Rainy River District Still Without a Contract

FORT FRANCES, ON--(Marketwired - April 13, 2016) - Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) teachers in District 5B, Rainy River, who have been engaged in a selective withdrawal of services since December 2015, remain without a contract despite another day of negotiations this week.

Negotiations with the Rainy River District School Board began on April 30, 2015 and over the past year only 11 days of negotiations were scheduled. Two additional days of negotiations were scheduled for this week; however, impasse was reached late Tuesday afternoon.

"Our members have been without a contract since August 2014 and are growing increasingly frustrated at the Board's reluctance to address local issues raised at the bargaining table," said Kent Kowalski, President of OSSTF/FEESO District 5B, Rainy River Secondary Teachers. "The Board's proposals fail to recognize the unique circumstances in the District and employment conditions that are increasingly under attack by the Board."

Paul Elliott, OSSTF/FEESO Provincial President and chair of the negotiations team said, "With a central agreement between OSSTF/FEESO, the government and the school boards' association in place since August 2015, we are extremely disappointed with the lack of movement towards a local deal in Rainy River. We expect a fair local deal that doesn't seek to undermine the working conditions of our members, their access to work and the learning conditions of our students."

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.