The Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board has broken its silence and contradicted the elementary teacher union's version of the results of last week's failed effort to reach a new collective agreement..
When a marathon 33-hour bargaining session ended, the union president said Friday that discussions on a key issue—the internal placement of teachers—had proven fruitless.
"We are truly disappointed and perplexed at the board's absolute refusal to consider a teacher's experience as part of the criteria when selecting from applicants for internal, posted positions," said Aldo Grillo.
"The union has moved significantly on this issue but the board has refused to compromise in any way."
The school board responded in a media release Tuesday.
"The union president has reported that the board did not consider any provision about the teachers' key element—criteria for the internal placement of teachers. This is not accurate."
In the statement, Director of Education Pino Tassone went on to dispute a claim that the board has provided no criterion for the placement of teachers.
"This too is not so," the statement reads. "The board remains committed to placing teachers to meet the needs of the school and of the system."
Tassone added that "there is no room in our proposal for the board to act arbitrarily or without accountability."
Grillo acknowledged Friday that there was some progress in the negotiations, and the board's statement today echoes that, saying that despite the absence of an agreement, the two parties have made significant progress in resolving outstanding differences with the help of a mediator.
The teachers have said they will continue working to rule until a new contract is reached to cover the period between 2014 and 2017.
The board says it continues to hope that an agreement will be reached in the near future.
