Midwestern

Avon Maitland And OSSTF Support Staff Reach Tentative Deal

The Avon Maitland District School Board has reached tentative local agreement with two units of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation.

One unit represents education support staff such as office workers, educational assistants and early childhood educators. The other includes professional student services personnel like psychologists, speech and language pathologists, and attendance counsellors.

The agreements will be voted on by the board, and union the first week of January 2106.

The local public board employs almost 1,600 teachers and 900 support staff. 15,500 students attend the board's schools.

“We respect the central and local-level bargaining process and are pleased that a tentative agreement has been reached with these two groups of highly valued employees,” said Ted Doherty, director of education for the Avon Maitland District School Board.

Mary-Jane Karkheck, president of District 8 OSSTF-ESS, says she is “pleased to have reached tentative agreements that are respectful of the work our members do every day on behalf of students and their educational experience.”

Central bargaining takes place between the Ontario Public School Boards Association and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, and is agreed to by the province.

Local bargaining takes place between the school board and various units.

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