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October 11, 2002
GN, teachers' union reach
tentative agreement
The Federation of Nunavut Teachers reached a tentative new collective agreement
this week with the department of education and the Government of Nunavut's financial
management board.
In a joint press release on Tuesday, the GN and the FNT spoke in glowing terms
about the latest offer.
The teachers' contract expired June 30 and the two sides completed three rounds
of negotiations before summer. The fourth round of negotiations ended late Monday
evening.
The proposed three-year agreement would give teachers an approximate 9.54 per
cent salary increase on an accumulated basis over the life of the agreement.
It would also increase the Nunavut Northern Allowance, though increases would
vary depending on the teacher's community of residence. It would enhance maternity
and paternal leave benefits, the educational leadership program and acting duties
allowance.
Lou Budgell, president of the FNT, said he and his negotiating team would recommend
the union's 630 members accept the offer.
"We firmly believe that this is a good agreement," Budgell said in
an interview.
The FNT is in the process of meeting with teachers and distributing an outline
comparing the proposed agreement to the one that expired June 30.
Teachers will have about two weeks to review the information, and the date
for a ratification vote has been tentatively set for Oct. 25.
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