Six union central bargaining tables formally established for Ontario school board negotiations

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice

The regulation now designates six employee bargaining agencies — CUPE, ETFO, OSSTF, OPSEU, EWAO-ATEO, and OCEW — as the official representatives for central bargaining covering all school board employees in their respective bargaining units. For each union or union council, a matching central table is established, and employer-side bargaining agencies (councils drawn from francophone public, francophone Catholic, and English-language school board associations) are designated where required. Each central table will conduct province-wide bargaining on behalf of the affected employees and school boards. School boards and unions covered by these designations must engage through these central tables for the 2026 round of collective bargaining. Individual school boards and local union affiliates should verify which central table applies to their bargaining units and coordinate with their designated employer or employee bargaining agency accordingly.

Who this affects: Ontario school boards · school board employees in CUPE, ETFO, OSSTF, OPSEU, EWAO-ATEO, and OCEW bargaining units · francophone and English-language school board employer associations · local trade union affiliates of designated bargaining agencies