Province makes new offer to teachers’ union as deadline for 1-day strike looms

The provincial government says it has tabled a new offer to the high school teachers’ union a day before a planned one-day strike across the province.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce told reporters at Queen’s Park that provincial negotiators made the offer to the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) on Tuesday morning.

Lecce did not offer any details, but described the offer as “a new framework that we think in our estimation should keep them at the table.”

Lecce said the government wants to reach a deal with teachers to avoid a one-day strike.

Teachers plan to walk off the job on Wednesday in a bid to turn up the pressure during tense labour negotiations with the province.

OSSTF is already conducting a work-to-rule campaign and has been without a contract since the end of August.

Lecce says the main issue is compensation, with the government recently passing legislation to cap annual wage increases for all public sector workers at one per cent for three years.

The union is asking for inflationary increases, which would amount to about two per cent.

CBC