After fourteen months of negotiations, Provincial ETFO is presenting for ratification from the membership, a tentative central table agreement as announced by ETFO President Sam Hammond in the following video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWpUEAs6zo&feature=youtu.be
Voting closes at midnight on Thursday, November 12th and though members can read the original documents for themselves by logging onto the voting site at http://www.etfocb.ca , below are a few of the reasons from an Occasional Teacher perspective, that your Local is recommending this deal to our members:
- Boards will be required to provide keys for daily OTs to lock classroom doors (a major concern of the membership as expressed in our last CB Survey),
- The superior terms in our current collective agreement are protected eg. 2 paid PD days, provisions for leave, experience credits, money in lieu of benefits for LTOs to name a few,
- The 97 delay in grid advancement is to cease with credit retroactive to September 2015,
- All OTs will receive a lump sum payment equal to 1% of earned wages from 2014-2015,
- Daily OTs and LTOs will receive an additional 1% raise as of September 2016 and an additional .5% in February 2017,
- Sick leave benefits for LTOs will be doubled to 120 days,
- One-time grant to be provided to Boards for H&S training for Occasional Teachers,
- Regulation 274 remains intact with enhanced provisions for feedback after interviews and a committee to further review the process,
- And finally, none of the OPSBA threats to enshrine language enabling Principals to direct an OTs prep time, assign additional duties or remove the provisions of Regulation 274, have been included.
Please note that members must have their ETFO ID number to participate in the site. Assistance is available at 1-877-869-8233. Access to the site and accompanying documents is terminated once members have submitted their vote so please review the materials before you cast your ballot.
PD Opportunity on November 17, 2015
Two of our most popular presenters are returning to offer members a session on Interview Skills and Classroom Management Strategies. These workshops will be held at the Best Western Stoneridge Inn and Conference Centre, 6675 Burtwistle Lane, London, Ontario, N6L 1H5.
Registration is open and spots are filling quickly. Please go to www.etfotvot.com to register. You will need to have an account on the secure portion of the ETFO-TVOT website referred above.
Registration closes on November 13, 2015, at noon.
You can also register for our upcoming Fall General Meeting taking place on December 2, 2015 at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn. Registration is open on the ETFO-TVOT website referenced above.
Elementary Occasional Teacher PD Offerings
Information regarding Elementary Occasional Teacher PD is now posted on the Staff Development website.
To see online offerings, please go onto the Employee Portal--> Conference/Session Registration -->
"Elementary Occasional Teacher PD 2015-2016" conference.
Register for the offering you would like to complete and then proceed with the offering. You will need to go back into the main conference page and click on the name of the offering (ie: ".5 French - Transforming FSL"). A second screen will appear with instructions, links etc. Each offering constitutes a .5 day of PD.
Some important reminders:
1. PD must be completed on a PD day (the next PD day is Friday November 20th, 2015).
2. Your submission of a reflection form is what initiates the payment process, so please submit them in a timely manner.
3. Links to the reflection form and request form (if doing self-directed at a school location) are found in the Elementary Occasional Teacher PD 2015-2016 conference text, or on the Staff Development website. There's additional information posted as well for OTs who are in a partial LTO or partial contract as your entitlement is pro-rated.
4. Remember to save a .5 day for your mandatory training!
Please direct any questions directly to Lyndsey Kendall, Staff Development Coordinator, Organizational Support Services - HRS, Thames Valley District School Board, Tel: (519) 452-2000 ext. 20506
