Ontario reaches tentative contract with 35,000 provincial workers

TORONTO – The Liberal government has reached a three-year tentative contract with its 35,000 civil servants.

The government calls the agreement with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union a “net zero” deal, meaning it falls within the Liberals’ framework for not funding pay increases.

The details are not being made public, but if the deal includes a wage increase for provincial employees there would have to be savings elsewhere in the agreement to offset the cost of the salary hike.

The Liberals say they will not fund salary increases for anyone in the public sector until they eliminate a deficit of $10.3 billion, which they plan to do by 2017-18.

The last contract with OPSEU expired at the end of December.

Deputy premier Deb Matthews says the government is still at the bargaining table with the union representing workers in correctional institutions on issues specific to them.