Bargaining 2012 (Collective Bargaining)
In the Winter 2011 edition of Voice, you were introduced to the approved bargaining goals that ETFO will pursue in the upcoming round of negotiations. These goals form the foundation of what we would like to achieve for our next collective agreements. In this issue, we add some clarity, rationale, and background for teacher locals, occasional teacher locals, and ESP, PSP, and DECE locals.
Bargaining Goals for Teacher Goals
To eliminate the existing 2% salary differential During the term of the last collective agreement, every public elementary teacher in Ontario received an increase that was 2 percent less than the members of OSSTF, OECTA, and AEFO received. ETFO has been clear that this inequity must be rectified in the upcoming round of negotiations. ETFO teacher members’ salaries must be restored to their proper levels during the term of the next collective agreement. To negotiate a real salary increase During the 12-month period ending November 30, 2011, as reported by Statistics Canada, consumer prices in Ontario rose by 2.5 percent. This increase was led by gasoline prices that rose by 11.6 percent, with food prices following at a 6.7 percent increase over the previous year. A real salary increase is necessary for ETFO members to maintain parity with the cost of living. To negotiate maximum class sizes in all grades and programs Average class size is important. However, averages never tell the full story of what goes on in classrooms. Our data reveal that there are still major obstacles to creating optimal teaching and learning conditions at the primary level. While the Ministry’s goal is a class-size cap of 20 pupils in primary grades, ETFO data indicate that many kindergarten classes exceed that number, and also exceed the second-tier primary class-size cap of 23 students. The Ministry has exempted classes for students in the Early Learning Program from their own class-size-cap expectation. Currently there are some JK/SK classes in the Early Learning Program with numbers over 30, and many more have 25 or more students. This must be rectified. ETFO is also proposing that the government and school boards recognize the tremendous benefit that could be realized by addressing junior and intermediate class size. For the 2011-2012 school year, the Ministry is providing funding to support an average class size of 24.7. Since September 2005, the government has funded secondary schools for an average class size of 22 students. To negotiate improved preparation time Meaningful gains have been made in preparation time provisions since 2004. Before that year, most collective agreements provided for a maximum of 160 minutes of preparation time per week. Several locals had less. This school year, every ETFO teacher member in Ontario receives 230 minutes of preparation time per 5-day cycle to be used for professional purposes at the sole discretion of the teacher. Secondary teachers receive 375 minutes of scheduled preparation time per week. With the added work load created by Ministry and board-level initiatives, prep time is increasingly important for delivering quality education. To negotiate limits on teacher workload It is fair to say that the steady stream of new school board and Ministry initiatives, in addition to the administrative duties being downloaded onto teachers, are major sources of stress for elementary teachers in schools today. Additionally, in recent years, assessment has become far more complex and far more time-consuming. Increasingly, the work of teachers has become numbers-driven, and not only with respect to EQAO scores. Although the form that it takes is very different, similar pressure is being applied to teachers in the secondary panel. However, besides having significantly more weekly preparation time than their elementary colleagues, secondary teachers have additional paid time that they may use for assessment. This is time that all teachers need and deserve. Boards can no longer expect us to give up significant amounts of our personal time in order to implement the newest initiative or assessment instrument. To negotiate benefit improvements Benefit plans for ETFO members vary significantly from local to local across the province. For example, your local may have unlimited coverage for physiotherapy treatments while another local may have a limit on coverage or no coverage at all. Conversely, that same local may have significantly better vision care provisions than in your collective agreement. There are some locals where the collective agreement does not provide for the board to pay 100 percent of the premiums for benefit coverage. This requires members to pay out of pocket for a portion of the premium charges, directly reducing their compensation. Enhancing benefit coverage positively affects the well-being of teachers and their families. To negotiate improved pregnancy and parental entitlements Teachers currently suffer a financial penalty when a child is born or adopted. Employment Insurance benefits, for those teachers who qualify, provide only a portion of pre-leave income, and no income for the mandatory two-week waiting period before benefits commence. This shortfall can be—and should be—made up through the negotiated provisions of the collective agreement. Such payments to supplement Employment Insurance benefits are known as “top-up” payments. At present, all ETFO teacher collective agreements provide for at least some additional payment for the first few weeks of a pregnancy or parental leave, but none of these fully replaces the pre-leave income for the duration of the leave. These low levels of top-up payments for teachers have not kept pace with benefits enjoyed by other comparable groups of employees. After much hard bargaining over decades, teachers still remain well behind many of their counterparts in other parts of the public sector. Any number of collective agreements covering nurses, other health care workers, police officers, municipal employees, university and college employees, civil servants, and others provide more comprehensive benefits than those currently available to teachers. To negotiate language that ensures that vice-principals and principals do not engage in bargaining unit work Over the past several years, more than 400 full-time equivalent teaching positions each year have been filled by school administrators. That takes 400 jobs away from teachers per year. The money for these positions comes out of the funding formula line that supports classroom teaching. In the face of declining enrolment in Ontario, and a wave of newly graduated young teachers unable to practise in their field, this must concern us all. To negotiate experience credit to include all occasional teacher work When a teacher is hired, she or he is placed at a given point on the salary grid according to qualifications and experience. Placement with respect to qualifications depends on a rating from the Qualifications Evaluation Council of Ontario (QECO). Placement with respect to teaching experience, however, is dependent on the specific wording of the collective agreement. There is considerable variation across the province in the methods school boards use to determine this, which in itself is a problem. Ontario teachers should be free to change employers without jeopardizing their salary entitlement. Though it is not always the case, for the most part teacher collective agreements recognize the work that a teacher has completed in long-term occasional teaching positions, and factor that in when determining where to place the teacher on the salary grid. Much less common, however, is the recognition of casual (daily) teaching experience that a teacher has completed. Where such provisions do exist, there is a formula to determine how much experience credit should be awarded for a given number of occasional days taught. Teachers work hard to achieve their credentials and their teaching work—all of their teaching work—should be fully recognized. It is a question of professional recognition and respect.
Bargaining Goals for Occasional Teacher Locals
To negotiate a real salary increase Occasional teachers face the same pressures as regularly contracted teachers when it comes to keeping up with the cost of living. For many OTs, not knowing each morning whether there will be work adds financial uncertainty. A real salary increase is necessary in order to ensure that occasional teachers’ salaries do not fall behind the cost of living. To negotiate paid professional learning The expectations placed on occasional teachers are not dissimilar to those placed on contract teachers. This is particularly true for those who are in long-term assignments. It is reasonable to expect school boards to professionally train all of their employees, including occasional teachers, to help them meet these expectations. It is also reasonable to expect school boards to pay occasional teachers for the time during which this professional learning occurs. To negotiate capped lists Occasional teachers are a diverse group. Some are newly minted teachers just out of the faculties of education. Some are retirees supplementing their pensions. Some are career occasional teachers for whom the flexibility of the work fits well with other commitments. Some are educators who aspire to permanent, full-time teaching jobs. One thing they all share, however, is their vital role in keeping the education system functioning. While job security may not be the first thing many people think of in connection with occasional teaching, it is as important a collective bargaining issue for occasional teachers as it is for all other school board employees. Occasional teachers attempt to improve their job security through capped lists that put a limit on the number of occasional teachers on the hiring list. To negotiate language to provide priority hiring for permanent positions and LTO assignments Job security also means that occasional teachers who decide to pursue permanent teaching employment have a reasonable chance in the hiring process. Unlike outside applicants, these long-service employees have already demonstrated their teaching abilities inside the school board. This should count when boards are seeking qualified applicants for vacant positions, whether long-term occasional or permanent teaching positions. To negotiate benefit improvements Occasional teacher collective agreements vary considerably when it comes to access to benefits. While long-term occasional teachers often have benefit coverage equal to that of teachers, they sometimes don’t have coverage until a certain time threshold has been crossed—often waiting 60 or 90 days. Other occasional teachers have additional salary provided in lieu of benefits. Improving both the access to benefits and the level of coverage or compensation are important issues for occasional teacher members. To negotiate experience credit to include all occasional teacher work As noted above, having all teaching experience count toward experience credit is reasonable and appropriate. This applies not only when procuring that first permanent contract position but also when an occasional teacher is hired for a long-term occasional position. LTO teachers are expected to carry out the duties and have the same expectations as other teacher members on staff. Their previous teaching work is invaluable in providing the background, knowledge, and experience to do a good job and should count for salary purposes.
Bargaining Goals for ESP/PS Locals and DECE Locals
To negotiate a real salary increase Education support personnel (ESP), professional support personnel (PSP), and designated early childhood educator (DECE) members are those who provide specialized service and assistance to children in the classroom. They deserve a real salary increase that recognizes the important and significant work they do. To negotiate benefit improvements As with teacher benefits, packages that cover ESP, PSP, and DECE members vary from local to local. The members in each of these locals would be aided by improvements to the individual components of the existing benefit coverage. There are also some situations where, similar to the teacher collective agreement, less than 100 percent of the premium cost is the responsibility of the school board. These circumstances must be improved. To guarantee and improve working conditions ETFO’s ESP, PSP and DECE members face different yet significant workload and working condition challenges. For example, despite having significant responsibilities, many of our ESP, PSP and DECE members do not have provisions for regularly scheduled preparation time. With no caps on supervision time nor a limit on the number of student contacts, many of our members who are paid on an hourly basis are undertaking their responsibilities after the regularly scheduled hours for which compensation is provided. This is not acceptable. You are encouraged to stay aware and informed as collective bargaining unfolds over the coming months. There are many avenues by which information will flow your way and you can “control your future” by reading newsletters, participating in meetings, and following updates at www.controlyourfuture.ca.
