Education Minister of Canada

Ontario's education minister is protecting $2.5 million in special affiliate payouts to teachers' unions, saying the particular groups incurred

extra costs throughout the most recent round of negotiating - because of the Liberal government's new system.

Liz Sandals declined to show just how much the federal government allocated to the compensation even though it is still in discussions using the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario and support unions.

However a memorandum of settlement shows the federal government decided to spend the money for Ontario School Instructors Federation $a million to pay the union. The Ontario British Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) also received $a million, its leader stated, as the French teachers' union received $500Thousand.

"I do not think about it as being compensation by itself, " Sandals stated after question period. "I think about it as being trading in changing

a method that did not work."

The 2010 talks with instructors and support unions were the very first underneath the Liberals' new, two-tier negotiating system, to which the unions negotiate central handles the province, then local deals are hammered by helping cover their the union local people and college boards.

It had been a "very lengthy process, " Sandals stated. It required six several weeks alone for that parties to sort out which issues could be central and which may be local.

OECTA spent 47 days in "active negotiating" and incurred many costs for example leasing rooms to bargain, stated leader Ann Hawkins. The union hasn't received such compensation before, she stated.

"The truth is, it was a completely new process, " she stated. "The federal government, well, everyone thought it may be a bit more efficient. It switched out it had not been.Inch

The conditions won't reoccur, Sandals stated, because "we are never going to need to determine every clause in each and every collective agreement again."

Actually, the federal government has additionally made extra obligations towards the school boards due to exactly the same costs, but Sandals could not say what amount.

ETFO stated it's neither asked for nor recognized government funds, and covers its own negotiating expenses.

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown stated a $1-million payout is "no appropriate negotiating technique."

"This is actually the government's mistake, " he stated. Neither the union nor the scholars produced the brand new system, however they "are having to pay for that government's mess, " Brown stated.

The offer rich in school instructors incorporated a 1-per-cent lump sum payment payment this season along with a one-per-cent raise by Sept. 1, 2016, with another half percent later.

The Liberal government stated the offer was internet zero, meaning the boosts were offset by finding savings elsewhere.

The settlement agreement discloses the federal government could fund individuals boosts both by providing instructors who'd banked sick days under previous collective contracts more compact affiliate payouts the coming year rather than receiving more upon retirement, and rescheduling a fund for special programs which help battling students graduate.

This Year, the federal government agreed using the unions to defer the ultimate year from the special teacher employing program to 2014, consider the graduation rate went up everybody agreed it may be cancelled, Sandals stated.