Catholic teacher negotiations resume

Negotiations resumed Wednesday between Niagara Catholic District School Board and the union representing 800 of its teachers, as they work to avoid a lockout scheduled for Monday.

The school board and Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) Niagara Elementary Unit representatives spent 29 hours straight working to reach a deal when they last met on March 6 and 7, said school board communications officer Jennifer Pellegrini.

The resumption of negotiations follow increased tensions between the two sides during the past week, when the board posted a notice on its website accusing the union of being unfair to its 14,700 students, while the union issued a media release saying the board continues to be disrespectful of its members.

Tuesday, OECTA placed full-page advertisements in all three of Niagara’s daily newspapers, urging residents to contact their trustees.

“Don’t let them lock us out,” the advertisement says.

It also provides some insight into the negotiations that are underway, including an effort by the board to ban teachers from communicating with trustees.

“Trustees need to be informed,” the advertisement says.

In an email, Niagara Elementary Unit president Marie Balanowski confirmed that the two sides were back at the table, adding that teachers “currently have the right to speak to the board of trustees.”

The board, however, “is trying to remove that provision from our collective agreement,” Balanowski said.