Arbitrator Rules They Cannot Adjudicate Local Terms Of Teachers' Collective Agreements

A recent decision in an arbitration involving the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA), the Ontario Catholic Schools Trustees Association (OCSTA) and the Crown in Right of Ontario sets an important precedent for school boards across the province.

Background

The School Boards Collective Bargaining Act¹ (the Act) outlines the process for collective bargaining in the education sector. The process divides bargaining for the collective agreement into two parts, central and local negotiations. The parties to central negotiations determine the scope of issues for bargaining at the central table to form the Scope Agreement. In this case, central negotiations took place between the OECTA and OCSTA, with the Crown as a participant, forming Part A of the collective agreement. These terms are binding on all school boards. Local negotiations took place between the individual school boards and the OECTA, forming Part B of the collective agreement.