Membership Well-Being at the Forefront (Professional Relations)

Educators work in a highly regulated and litigious environment. Moreover, political, economic, social, and environmental change in the province inevitably affects families, children, and, of course, schools.

Some issues in educators’ lives are constants: stress, health and  safety  concerns, potential  allegations  of  misconduct,  interaction with outside bodies such as the Children’s Aid Society, College of Teachers matters, illness and injury, accommodation for disabilities, conflicts with school administrators, conflict with parents – the list is long. But, as might be expected, the larger picture has affected how all of these issues have played themselves out over the past 10 years.

Policy-induced  stress

In ETFO’s earliest years, work-related stress and its fallout (such as long- term disability claims) were on the rise. As the professional relations services report to the 2000  annual  meeting noted: “With the government’s unrelenting attacks on teachers and the realities of today’s classrooms, educating members on ways to address stress in their lives remains critical.”

There were particular stressors, of course, such as the new provincial report card introduced in ETFO’s first year, as well as the introduction of standardized testing and recertification.

In September 2002 Bill 110, the Quality in the Classroom Act was implemented. This law mandated a new system of teacher performance appraisals, four in two years for new teachers and twice every three years thereafter. Understandably, the anxiety level in schools was palpable.

During this period the government also put in place a new system for criminal background checks. ETFO worked with the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association to ensure a process that was as consistent and fair as possible.

Positive  change

When the Liberals were elected in 2003 they made changes to  some of  these  initiatives. For  example, they  scaled back  standardized tests, repealed  recertification,  and  enacted  a  less  draconian  performance appraisal system. The union was instrumental in lobbying for amendments to  performance appraisals to make them less punitive and more focused on  professional growth, dialogue, and collaboration. Nevertheless, despite the changes ETFO  locals  and  the   provincial  office  have spent considerable time working with boards to ensure that the system is implemented  appropriately, with a focus on respectful professional relationships.

Changes  made  to  procedures  for  student suspension  and  expulsion  in  February  2008 were also positive. As part of the previous government’s “get tough” agenda the Education Act had been amended in 2001 giving teachers the right to suspend students. This power is one that should clearly rest with school administration, and ETFO took the unusual step of issuing a formal advisory to members not to suspend students.

ETFO  members  were  among  those  who benefitted in December 2000 when the federal government extended the period during which Employment Insurance (EI) benefits are available for pregnancy and parental leaves. Provincial governments, including Ontario, amended their own laws so that new parents could take advantage of these extended benefits. Today’s challenge – one that is a goal in this round of negotiations –  is to bargain increased supplemental payments to top up EI benefits when members go on leave.

Fluctuations in  the  labour  market in  the past  decade  have  also  driven  public  policy. When ETFO was  founded, the province was facing a teacher shortage. Changes to the pension plan made early retirement more feasible for many teachers. In addition, applications to faculties of education had plummeted – hardly surprising given the climate of the preceding years. One lasting effect of this was a new focus on retaining new  teachers, a group disproportionately at risk of leaving the profession. Many aspects of the New Teacher Induction Program, which came into effect in 2007, are a legacy of these times.

Awareness of  health  and  safety

Over the past 10 years, educators have developed  a  greater  awareness  of  the  health  and safety implications of their work. While educating children has always been considered a relatively safe occupation, we know from a decade’s worth of experience with Workers’ Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)  claims that  complacency on anyone’s part would be a mistake.

In 1998, the year ETFO was founded, the province made extensive changes to how WSIB deals with those  who have experienced work-related injury or illness. The system, which had been focused on compensating ill  or injured workers, is now focused on returning them to work as quickly as possible. As well, the “loss of earning” benefit was reduced from 90 per cent of take home pay to 85 per cent.

As schools age, and as boards struggle under the dysfunctional funding formula to find sufficient funds for  maintenance and repairs, the health  and  well-being  of  ETFO  members  is affected. Slips and falls, particularly in parking lots, are major occupational hazards. Recently, there has also been an increase in air quality- related   incidents,  such  as  exposure  to  toxic chemicals and mould (especially in leaky portables).

As for long-term disability (LTD), stress and related conditions such as depression and anxiety remain the most common cause for claims today. In recent years, there has also been an increase in cancer-related and  circulatory system LTD claims.

These are just a few of the ways in which the working lives of  ETFO’s members have been shaped by the  occasionally turbulent past 10 years. To educators, the legal, regulatory, and political environment is not a  remote process that happens far away in Queen’s Park. Rather, it is the reality that shapes the day-to-day work that  they  do,  and  their  relations  with  their employers, students, and communities. Its consequences are tangible, something governments of all stripes need to keep in mind.