Occasional Teachers Set New Standards (Collective Bargaining)

This round of bargaining has definitely created a new era for our occasional teacher locals. Negotiations have improved the working conditions in many areas, have established a number of significant gains, and have also revealed some challenges for reform.

The 2004 annual meeting provided unprecedented support to our occasional teacher (OT) locals in their quest to achieve gains in this round of bargaining. Delegates at the meeting endorsed a resolution to support each local, up to and including strike actions, to ensure that every OT collective agreement includes the following language:

The timetable for an occasional teacher shall be the same as the timetable of the teacher who is being replaced.

Our OT locals have succeeded in making gains in a number of other areas that will provide a solid foundation and help set the agenda for future negotiations.

Salary gains

Our preliminary submissions did not contemplate salary settlements breaking 24 per cent over a four-year collective agreement. Before this round of bargaining there was a $47 per day gap between the highest and lowest paid OTs. The pattern for this round of negotiations is diminishing this gap dramatically and by the time the dust settles it will be less than $15 per day.

Our bargaining goal has been to reach 1/194 of Category A-1, Step 0 on the teacher salary grid for the casual rate. During this round of bargaining, we saw that this ratio had little relevance for some of our locals; it would have produced a salary lower than what bargaining achieved.

The 1/194 ratio appears to be a solid basis for bargaining. However, there is now a significant variance – of over $7400 – between the highest and lowest Category A-1, Step 0 teacher salary levels. During the next two years occasional teacher negotiators will need to reflect on this objective and possibly revise the premise from which we operate.

Reaching long-term status

During the past several years OT locals have worked to reduce to 10 the number of days it takes to reach long-term status and be placed on the teacher salary grid. At least one local has been successful, but many others continue to work toward this goal. Ten locals have achieved reductions this time. We need to remind ourselves that this 10-day target is only a stopover on the road to what many believe is the appropriate target -- three days.

Report cards

The processing of report cards is a normal part of a teacher’s life; for occasional teachers, not so.
Occasional teachers need to be concerned about the timing of a long-term assignment as it relates to preparing report cards, training to prepare report cards, and possibly having to return to the school after completing their assignment to help finish them. Far too often, occasional teachers are dropped into a long-term assignment just weeks prior to the preparation of reports cards. A number of our occasional teacher locals successfully negotiated collective agreement language in this round. Future negotiations will continue to address this area.

Member evaluation

For teachers, legislation provides for a complicated and time-consuming performance appraisal; but there is no such requirement for OTs. Yet, for them evaluations are the vehicle for getting a long-term assignment or a teaching position. The challenge OTs face is convincing busy principals to take the time to provide an evaluation for someone who is not at their site frequently. This becomes a recipe for frustration. Six more OT collective agreements now contain language dealing with evaluations.

Benefit plans

During the last two years our teacher locals have reviewed and consolidated their benefit plans. Many occasional teachers are covered by a partner's plan and thus place less importance on benefit plans. Benefit plans for occasional teachers usually are limited to those who have completed two or three months of a long-term assignment. Very few agreements contain language about the continuation of benefits after the long-term assignment ends.

Recently locals have begun to negotiate a daily dollar amount, either for those in long-term
positions or, in some cases, for all members. As an organization striving for equity, we should carefully examine the degree to which we are creating an impossible situation for those members who are self-supporting and not able to finance a benefit plan without assistance. Eight locals have improved their benefit provisions in this round of bargaining.

Professional development

The Ministry of Education has legislated an additional two professional activity days for teachers trying to meet the demands of new curriculum initiatives, evaluation (of both students and teachers), and other administrative procedures. However, many boards have given just lip service to professional development for OTs by allowing them to attend teacher workshops only if there is available space.

Some of our OT locals have negotiated funds to provide their own professional growth programs for members. These funds usually are insufficient. Again, in this round of bargaining, our locals have broken ground by achieving paid professional development days for their members.These successes will be a boost for future negotiations.

Educating school administrators about the needs of occasional teachers and the provisions of their collective agreements will be an ongoing challenge. Negotiations, in conjunction with the ETFO public relations campaign, have certainly highlighted the role of OTs and increased recognition of the of importance of their work.

OT locals have the resolve to succeed. During the next two years we need to critically assess these gains and then set the parameters for the next stage in improving the working lives and status of these members.