The local Catholic school division has reportedly reached a deal with its teachers. The Alberta Teachers’ Association Local #42 and Grande Prairie & District Catholic Schools say they reached an agreement on Friday, June 22nd, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
“We negotiated a settlement that we believe will make improvements for the teachers of Grande Prairie Catholic Local 42,” says Negotiating Sub Committee Chair Loren Lyons. “We will continue to canvas our teachers and listen to their concerns as we move forward.”
The terms of the agreement won’t be made public until it is ratified by teachers on August 29th and board trustees on September 4th. While much of the collective agreement is handled by the Alberta Government through the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association, GPDCS board chair Michael Ouellette says they can still negotiate a number of local matters.
“We believe that we were able to achieve an agreement that enhances leave for teachers including personal leave and family leave, conditions we believe are important to our teaching staff,” he explains. “Negotiations were respectful, at time difficult, but we proved local bargaining is an important part of the work that trustees and administration undertake.”
Negotiations started earlier this year but were put on hold until a mediator could be brought in to help.