Emilie WangOSSTF Collective Agreement Ontario — Complete Guide to Your Rights and Pay 2026
Ontario's approximately 45,000 public secondary school teachers are covered by one of the most significant collective agreements in Canadian education: the central agreement negotiated between the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) and the provincial government on behalf of Ontario's 72 district school boards. After years of dispute — including the controversial Bill 124 wage suppression legislation — the current agreement was resolved through binding interest arbitration in May 2024, delivering compounded wage increases of 11.73 per cent over four years. For the 2024–25 and 2025–26 school years, annual increases of 2.75 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively bring meaningful salary restoration after years of artificially capped wages. This guide unpacks everything you need to know: who is covered, what you earn at each grid step, how your pension and sick leave work, and what happens if your employment ends.
Who Is Covered Under the OSSTF Central Agreement
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation represents approximately 60,000 members across the province, but the central collective agreement described here applies specifically to teachers and occasional teachers employed by Ontario's publicly funded district school boards — roughly 40,000 to 45,000 classroom educators in secondary schools (Grades 9–12).
OSSTF bargaining is two-tier: the central agreement sets province-wide terms for wages, sick leave, preparation time, and professional obligations, while local agreements with each of the 36 school board districts add board-specific terms around class size caps, additional allowances, and local working conditions. Both tiers of your agreement apply simultaneously; where local terms exceed central minimums, the better standard prevails.
Excluded from this central agreement — though OSSTF represents them through separate bargaining — are educational assistants, professional student services personnel, early childhood educators, and support staff (secretarial, custodial, plant). Their agreements are governed under separate provincial tables.
Ontario's secondary school teachers are provincially regulated employees under the Education Act and the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). Unlike many federally regulated sectors, the Canada Labour Code does not apply; the Ontario ESA sets the statutory floors for notice, severance, overtime (if applicable), and vacation pay.
Current Wage Rates and Pay Grid (2024–25 and 2025–26)
Ontario teacher salaries are determined by a QECO qualification category (A1, A2, A3, or A4, assigned by the Qualifications Evaluation Council of Ontario) and a step that advances one level per year of full-time service (up to approximately 11 steps).
General Wage Increases (GWI) under the 2022–2026 arbitration award:
| School Year | GWI Applied |
|---|---|
| 2022–23 | +3.0% |
| 2023–24 | +3.0% |
| 2024–25 | +2.75% |
| 2025–26 | +2.5% |
| Compounded total | +11.73% |
Approximate salary grid — effective September 1, 2025 (2025–26 school year):
| Category | Entry (Step 1) | Midpoint (Step 6) | Maximum (Step 11) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 (BEd + OCT) | ~$53,698 | ~$70,015 | ~$86,340 |
| A2 (BEd + 1 specialist) | ~$60,143 | ~$76,174 | ~$92,205 |
| A3 (BEd + grad-level AQs) | ~$68,482 | ~$88,655 | ~$108,831 |
| A4 (Master's degree or equiv.) | ~$72,337 | ~$94,690 | ~$117,043 |
Source: OCEOTA 2022–2026 salary grid with 2.5% GWI applied. Verify your board-specific grid against the schedule attached to your local collective agreement.
Key points:
- Step advancement (annual increment) is automatic for each year of continuous full-time service.
- Lateral category movement occurs when a teacher completes additional AQ courses recognised by QECO — there is no salary freeze during the assessment period.
- Department heads receive additional allowances negotiated locally, typically ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 per year depending on department size.
- Occasional teachers (supply teachers) are paid on a daily rate grid: approximately $282.46/day in 2024–25 and $289.52/day in 2025–26 at the minimum, rising with experience steps.
Preparation Time and Teaching Load
One of the most fiercely protected provisions in the secondary teachers' agreement is preparation time. Confirmed under the central agreement:
- Minimum 375 minutes of preparation time per week for secondary school teachers — equivalent to approximately one full class period per day in a standard timetable.
- This represents 25 per cent of the instructional week, a significantly higher entitlement than the 240 minutes (16 per cent) granted to elementary teachers.
- Maximum course load: six courses per semester in semestered schools (or the equivalent load in non-semestered timetables). Assignments beyond this threshold require additional compensation under local terms.
- Extra-curricular activities (coaching, clubs, school productions) remain fully voluntary under the central agreement. No teacher can be compelled to run extra-curricular programmes, and this protection is explicitly upheld.
School year structure: the calendar comprises a minimum of 194 school days, including 3 Ministry-directed Professional Activity (PA) days and up to 4 additional board-directed PA days (total 6–7 PA days per year). Teachers receive their regular daily salary rate for all PA days.
Sick Leave and Short-Term Disability
The current central agreement replaces the prior accumulating sick day bank with a structured two-tier leave system:
Tier 1 — Annual Sick Leave:
- 11 sick days per year at 100 per cent of salary
- Renewable each September 1; unused days do not accumulate to the following year in the traditional sense but convert to top-up credits under Tier 2
Tier 2 — Short-Term Disability Leave Plan (STDLP):
- 120 days per school year at 90 per cent of salary once Tier 1 days are exhausted
- Each unused Tier 1 sick day from the current year converts to 10 additional STDLP days payable at 100 per cent (effectively bridging the 10% gap for those who have conserved Tier 1 days)
- Medical certification requirements:
- Up to 5 consecutive days: principal sign-off sufficient
- 6–20 consecutive days: certificate from a licensed medical practitioner required
- Beyond 20 days: monthly medical recertification may be required
Long-Term Disability (LTD): Once all STDLP days are exhausted, teachers access LTD coverage through the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan (OTIP), typically at 66.67 per cent of pre-disability salary until age 65 or return to work.
Vacation and Leave Entitlements
Unlike most workers covered by the Ontario ESA, teachers do not accumulate vacation pay in the conventional sense. The school calendar itself provides structured paid breaks:
- Summer recess: approximately 9–10 weeks (July–August) — teachers are salaried on a 10-month pay basis spread over 12 months
- Winter recess: approximately 2 weeks (December–January)
- March Break: 1 week (March)
- Other statutory days: 12 school holidays per year (including stat holidays and local board closures)
Ontario ESA vacation pay note: Because teachers' salaries already incorporate these structured breaks, the Ontario ESA vacation pay provisions (4% / 6%) are generally considered satisfied by the salary structure. However, occasional teachers on daily supply work accrue vacation pay at 4 per cent of earnings on each paycheque.
Other leave entitlements under the central agreement:
- Bereavement leave: locally negotiated (typically 3–5 days for immediate family, 1–3 days for extended family)
- Maternity/parental leave: top-up payments supplementing EI benefits, often to 93 per cent of salary for the first 17 weeks (varies by district)
- Personal leave days: locally negotiated
- Professional development leave for graduate studies: available with board approval in many districts
Notice Period and Severance (Ontario ESA)
Because OSSTF members are provincially regulated, the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 governs statutory minimums for termination:
Notice of Termination (Ontario ESA s. 57):
- Less than 1 year of service: 1 week notice
- 1 to fewer than 3 years: 2 weeks
- 3 to fewer than 4 years: 3 weeks
- Continuing: 1 additional week per completed year, up to a maximum of 8 weeks
Severance Pay (Ontario ESA s. 64): Applies if the employee has 5 or more years of service AND the employer has a payroll of $2.5 million or more (all school boards qualify):
- 1 week's pay per year of service, up to a maximum of 26 weeks
Important: These are statutory floors. The collective agreement, board practices, or common law reasonable notice may provide significantly higher entitlements. Teachers should consult their OSSTF district staff representative before accepting any termination package.
CPP, EI, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP)
Canada Pension Plan (CPP) — 2025 rates:
- Employee contribution: 5.95% on earnings between the basic exemption ($3,500) and the Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE, approximately $71,300 for 2025)
- Maximum annual CPP contribution: approximately $4,034
- CPP2: An additional 4% on earnings between the YMPE and the Year's Additional Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YAMPE, approximately $81,900) — maximum additional contribution ~$426/year
Employment Insurance (EI) — 2025 rates:
- Employee premium: 1.64% of insurable earnings up to maximum insurable earnings (~$65,700)
- Maximum annual EI premium: approximately $1,078
- Teachers on full-time salary are EI-insured; however, EI eligibility during summer recess depends on whether the employment relationship continues (typically it does, so most permanent teachers are not EI-eligible for the summer break)
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP): The centrepiece of long-term financial security for OSSTF members. OTPP is one of the world's largest pension funds with net assets exceeding $279 billion (2025).
- Plan type: Defined Benefit — your pension is guaranteed regardless of investment performance
- Contribution rates (2025):
- Earnings up to CPP YMPE (~$73,200): 10.4% employee / 10.4% employer (dollar-for-dollar match)
- Earnings above YMPE: 12.0% employee / 12.0% employer
- Benefit formula: 2% × years of credited service × "best 5 years" average salary
- Example: 30 years of service, average salary $90,000 → $54,000/year pension (indexed to inflation)
- Rule of 85 early retirement: Age + years of service ≥ 85 (e.g., age 55 + 30 years)
- Inflation protection: Full indexing provided while the plan maintains its fully funded status (current as of 2025)
Key Changes in the 2022–2026 Agreement
1. Wage restoration after Bill 124 The government's Bill 124 (2019) artificially capped public sector wage increases at 1% per year. The Ontario Superior Court struck it down as unconstitutional in 2022. The 2022–2026 arbitration award, delivered in May 2024, restored full bargaining rights and provided a compounded 11.73% total wage increase — the largest for Ontario teachers in over a decade.
2. Retroactive pay Teachers received retroactive adjustments for the 2022–23 and 2023–24 school years as part of the arbitration settlement.
3. Sick leave task force A joint labour-management task force was established to review attendance management practices and return-to-work programmes, with a target completion of August 31, 2025.
4. LTD committee A new committee was mandated to explore an updated education worker Long-Term Disability insurance plan.
5. Binding interest arbitration pathway OSSTF members voted in 2023 to pursue binding interest arbitration rather than traditional strike action, resulting in the May 2024 Kaplan Award. This model may influence future bargaining.
How to Use This Free Calculator
Understanding your collective agreement is one thing; calculating what it means for your paycheque is another. The OSSTF Teachers Ontario Free Calculator on this page helps you:
- Tab 1 — Wages & Tax: Enter your QECO category, step, and province to estimate your gross-to-net annual salary after CPP, EI, and federal income tax.
- Tab 2 — Overtime: Calculate course load overages and additional duty pay.
- Tab 3 — Vacation Pay: Estimate vacation entitlements for occasional teachers and supply staff under Ontario ESA rules.
- Tab 4 — Notice & Severance: Calculate statutory notice and severance under the Ontario ESA based on your years of service.
- Tab 5 — CPP & EI: See your annual CPP and EI contributions broken down monthly, plus your employer's matching OTPP cost.
- Tab 6 — Statutory Holidays: Calculate the dollar value of each statutory holiday and premium pay if you work on a stat day.
For broader context on collective agreement rights in Ontario's public sector, see our guides on the ONA Nurses Ontario 2024–2026 agreement and the CUPE Ontario Hospital Workers 2025–2027 agreement. For news on Ontario's evolving education landscape, read our analysis of Ontario's school board reform and the recent Ontario teacher training programme changes.
Conclusion
The OSSTF collective agreement for Ontario secondary school teachers represents a landmark achievement in Canadian public-sector labour relations: a legally binding framework that guarantees a structured salary grid, generous sick leave and disability coverage, world-class defined-benefit pension through OTPP, and robust preparation time protections. For the 2025–26 school year, experienced A4-category teachers can earn over $117,000 per year, while new A1 teachers start above $53,000 — both reflecting compounded wage restoration after years of suppression. Understanding these provisions fully — and using the free calculator below to model your individual situation — ensures you can plan your finances and know your rights with confidence.
Calculations are indicative only and do not constitute legal advice. Employment standards vary by province and whether you are federally regulated. For specific advice, contact the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (1-800-531-5551), your OSSTF district representative, or a labour lawyer. Canada Labour Program: 1-800-641-4049.
