Conciliation – a negotiation phase involving a neutral third party of the Ministry of Labour, which tries to help the parties resolve their dispute by proposing possible areas of compromise, adopting a different position, specifying the issues and using many other techniques to bring the parties closer together and reduce differences of opinion. The role of mediation is to support the parties by being creative and innovative in the search for areas of agreement and compromise to reach a definitive solution to an impasse. The Ontario Far North Public School Board (CSPGNO) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have entered into a three-year collective agreement for the period up to September 2022. “While we are pleased to centrally ratify this agreement that provides security of services, this is just the beginning,” Walton said. For example, the 1% pay increase was negotiated in the shadow of Bill 124, which would limit the salaries of public service employees in Ontario. “It doesn`t reflect what cupE members deserve,” Walton said, “and we need to move forward when it comes to solving issues like violence in schools, including the epidemic of harassment that affects everyone in schools.” Final offer – Under the Employment Relations Act, the employer may force an agreement of the collective agreement to join on their “final offer”, but the employer can only do so once. The local agreement was reached after the province and cupE – which represents 55,000 education workers across Ontario – signed a central agreement last October to avoid a strike. Ontario Labour Relations Act – the provincial legislation that governs the bargaining process, as well as other rules for unions and the management of collective agreements. Duration – the negotiated duration of the collective agreement as the contract continues to be applied. CUPE 3906 is divided into three units of collective agreements with each one a separate collective agreement: concessions – it is an attempt by the employer to reduce or eliminate benefits and/or other terms of employment that existed until now. Sunday`s deal averted a nationwide strike that would have closed hundreds of schools on Monday. “Parents can rest on the fact that the government has worked tirelessly to keep their children in the classroom where they need to be,” education minister Stephen Lecce said, without giving concrete details of the new agreement, except to say it is “fair and reasonable.” The agreement was reached because four other unions representing teachers and education workers are holding rotating strikes. Headteachers still have discretion as to whether or not they request such a decision.
The three-year interim agreement means that schools across the province were open on Mondays, as usual. Strike Vote mandates – a decisive instrument for the success of negotiations, a positive vote puts the right to call a strike (or other trade union actions) in the hands of the elected bargaining committee. A japative strike mandate sends a clear message to the employer that the members support the bargaining committee and the proposals put forward by the Union. It is not a vote in favour of a strike and it does not necessarily mean that there will be a strike. Strike mandate votes almost never fail and have never failed in the history of CUPE 3906. The ratification vote – if the Committee believes that it agrees with management, that it believes it can reinstate it, it will convene a special meeting of the General Assembly of Members (GMM) to discuss and launch the two-day ratification vote. If the ratification vote is confirmed, the new collective agreement will enter into force.