Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association set to return to the bargaining table on Feb. 3

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) is set to return to the bargaining table on Monday, Feb. 3, president Liz Stuart said Thursday night.

In a brief written statement, Stuart said "OECTA has been called back to the bargaining table."

But she said a planned one-day strike next week will go ahead.

"We are pleased to be getting back to negotiations. However, it remains to be seen how serious the discussions will be," Stuart wrote in the statement.

"We would like nothing more than to focus on reaching an agreement, but the government needs to understand that their proposed cuts simply cannot stay on the table. At this point, the strike action planned for February 4 will go ahead."

The planned job action is part of an ongoing dispute between Ontario's teachers' unions and the Ministry of Education.

Contract talks between Ontario's publicelementary teachers and the government have also been renewed and entered a second day on Thursday.