A tentative new collective agreement for teachers has been reached according to news releases from the Newfoundland and Labrador Teacher’s Association and the provincial government Tuesday afternoon.
The teachers have been without a contract for two years. Details of the tentative agreement will be presented to teachers in coming weeks.
No other information will be released until teachers have been fully briefed on the contents of the tentative collective agreement during a series of Branch meetings throughout the province.
A vote on the tentative collective agreement will take place on Feb. 26.
“The negotiating process can sometimes be long and difficult and we are pleased to reach a stage where our members will have the opportunity to hear the specifics,” president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association Dean Ingram said Tuesday afternoon in a news release.
“We look forward to consideration of the details by teachers and possible ratification of an agreement which will enable us to continue to concentrate on our main job of educating the children and students of this province,” he added.
The tentative collective agreement with the NLTA is subject to ratification by the it’s 6,000 members.
“While we remain focused on achieving fiscal balance through our collective agreements with public sector unions, we continue to work towards agreements that recognize the important contributions of our public service workforce,” Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board Tom Osbourne said in the government’s news release.
“I commend the negotiating teams on reaching a tentative agreement and look forward to the ratification process,” he added,
Osborne is also the minister responsible for the Human Resources Secretariat.
“Our K-12 teachers are responsible for educating the next generation of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. We continue to make great progress in the implementation of our Education Action Plan, with close to 40 per cent of the actions already completed or substantially underway, including an increase in reading and math specialists, and professional learning opportunities for teachers,” Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Al Hawkins said.
