10月22日最新数据是250万！

Ontario paid $1 –million to union for labor peace with high school teachers

政府花了1百万平息了高中老师罢工纠纷

Ontario’s Liberal government paid $ 1-million directly to the province’s high school teachers’ union as part of a deal to defuse one of its most explosive labor dispute.

In addition, the government financed raises for teachers by diverting money from a fund for special programs that help struggling students graduate,

拨给老师涨工资部分的钱是挪动了本该用于支持中学里有特别需求及帮助的学生的费用。

These details are included in the confidential 42-page document that spells out the terms of a three-year labour agreement the province and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation reached in August. The government and the union have kept the document secret, but The Globe and Mail obtained a copy.

纠纷解决细节工会和政府都保密，但邮报获得了这份文件的备份。

The Liberals need to keep a strong relationship with OSSTF, in part because teachers are key members of the party’s political base and in part because no labour dispute draws more attention than those involving schools. The timing allowed the party to clear the dispute off its plate ahead of the federal election, in which Premier Kathleen Wynne campaigned hard for Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau.

自由党需要和教师工会保持稳固的好关系，部分原因是老师们是自由党的主要政治基础的主要组成部分，另外就是和学校有关的纠纷总是最受人关注了。韦恩赶在联邦大选之前解决了此纠纷，看来她是为支持特鲁多下了很大的功夫。

Most significantly, the government agreed to give $1-million in taxpayer money to OSSTF to cover the cost of the negotiations

Brian Smeenk, a Toronto labour lawyer who was not involved in the negotiations, said such a payment from an employer to its union is unusual. In some cases, he said, an employer might agree to pay employees’ wages while they serve on a bargaining committee. But simply writing the union a $1-million cheque is not common.

一位没有参与解决劳动纠纷的律师说，政府付给教育工会这么多的钱来结局纠纷很不寻常。

“I’ve never seen a subsidization clause that goes beyond paying for lost salaries. This unusual case … is not a compensation for actual costs incurred; it’s what one might call a ‘sweetener,’” he said.

Mr. Smeenk said it is generally not a good idea for an employer to pay a union’s bargaining costs because each side in a negotiation should be responsible for its own interests.

对政府而言，这么慷慨的解决了这个纠纷并不是个好主意。

The document also reveals where the government found the money for a 1.5-per-cent raise and 1-per-cent lump sum payment to high school teachers. The province has repeatedly insisted the deal with OSSTF is a “net-zero,” but refused to divulge how it paid for the pay bumps.

The money came from two sources: “The available funding for secondary programming enhancement and voluntary payout of discounted net present value of future retirement gratuities provides for increases to salaries, wages and direct compensation,” the memorandum of settlement says.

解决纠纷的钱来自两个途径，其中一部分钱来自于本该用于支持中学里的一些特别项目的经费。另一部分来自于用于教师未来各种杂项的费用。

Secondary programming enhancement was a pool of money set up in 2008 to hire extra staff for programs to help students at risk of dropping out. The programs offer such things as co-op work experience stints and courses that count towards college credits.

中学项目改进这笔钱本从2008 年开始拨出，用于雇佣员工帮助有辍学倾向的学生。

The government was supposed to add money to the fund for five years. But in 2012, the fifth year, as a cost-saving measure, the province decided not to contribute any more money. Mr. Elliott said that payment would have been about $20-million. That amount is now being used for the raise and lump sum payment.

政府本应连续5年不断往此项目投入经费，但在第5 年的时候， 就是2012年，作为省钱策略，省府不再往此项目投钱，这笔钱就用在了解决高中老师罢课纠纷上了，给老师涨工资，并且一次性给了一部分钱。

The second source of funds is a rejigging in the contract of how banked sick days are paid out. Teachers will now have the option of cashing in banked sick days next year, instead of waiting for retirement, but will receive a lower rate. This is expected to save money, which will be put towards the raises.