THUNDER BAY – A take-it-or-leave-it deal offered up to the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board has to date not been responded to, says a union official representing elementary school teachers.
Aldo Grillo, president of the Ontario Elementary Catholic Teachers Association’s Thunder Bay unit, on Monday said they went to the board on Dec. 23 with an offer of binding arbitration aimed at putting an end to more than a year’s worth of bargaining.
Teachers have been on work-to-rule since last June.
“It has been 17 days since we made the offer to the Board and we have not yet received a response. Teachers are looking for a fair resolution to this dispute and we think that having the perspective of an independent third party would provide that,” Grillo said in a release issued to local media.
“If the school board agrees to voluntary binding arbitration then our contract would be settled, report cards would be getting done, and school life would be get back to normal in the Thunder Bay Catholic schools.”
Work-to-rule will continue should the offer not be accepted.
The local collective agreement, which covers 2014 to 2017, expires in eight months.
A call has been placed to the board for comment.
