TVDSB Revises Inclement Weather / School ClosuresLast week, TVDSB notified all staff of their new procedures regarding severe weather and bus cancellations.
Effective immediately, when buses are cancelled to a TVDSB school that relies on buses, that school will be closed and will instead transition to remote learning for the day. This means that OTs should always check the TVDSB website to ensure that their job is not cancelled nor has it now become a remote assignment.
For more details about this and for information about specific bus routes, check your Board Outlook account for the memo from Communications, dated January 27th.
LTOs who cannot make it to school because of inclement weather can use one of their "Act of Nature" days as provided by Article L9.04 (b): A Long-Term Occasional Teacher who is unavoidably absent due to a local act of nature over which no one has control may be granted up to three (3) school days leave per school year with no deduction of sick leave.... It is understood and agreed that a "local act of nature" is an act of nature that occurs within the geographic area between the Teachers' home address and the school or worksite of said Teacher.
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Prep Time for Daily Occasional TeachersThe TVOT Collective Agreement provides that "The timetable of an Occasional Teacher shall be the same as the timetable of the Teacher being replaced ..." (Article L18.02)
This means that we follow the same supervison timetable and receive the same prep periods as scheduled for that Teacher. The Local is aware that given the shortage of OTs, Administrators are sometimes requesting a daily OT to give up their prep periods to supervise another class. This is in violation of the terms of our Agreement so the Union asks that daily OTs keep track of any time they do not receive their prep period as we are discussing with the Board how members will be compensated for these encroachments.
N.B. LTOs should expect to have lost prep periods paid back along with permanent Teachers.
For assistance, please contact your TVOT Local .
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Offered Once Again
TVDSB is again offering as a paid PD session, "Supporting English Language Learners", a workshop facilitated by ETFO Provincial. This virtual workshop will be held on Tuesday, February 22/22 from 4:30-7:30 PM.
This is a paid PD session for eligible OTs available to those who have not taken the course previously and only those who are registered and who submit their reflection forms to Staff Development within 3 days after the session, will be paid for their participation,
To register, log into the Employee Portal and under "Conference/Session Registrations" click on Elementary Occasional Teacher PD 2021-2022.
For more information on OTE PD, log into their website in Sharepoint at System Staff Development .
N.B. Please advise the Board if you must cancel so that someone from the waitlist can take advantage of this opportunity.
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February is Black History Month
If you are looking for resources in support of the need to take action on anti-black racism, here are some titles to consider:
- Caste: The Origins of our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson
- Black Like Who?, Rinaldo Walcott
- How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi
- Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, Lisa Delpit
- Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present, Robyn Maynard
- Schooling the System: A History of Black Women Teachers, Funke Aladejebi
- So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo
- White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People to Talk About Racism, Robin Diangelo
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Check out the exciting line-up of events celebrating this month with the London Black History Coordinating Committee .
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Free TVO Resources for your class -
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Lock
it up!
Safety features
are an important part of every home. Locks, specifically, are the best way to
keep your home safe and secure from unwanted “guests.” Different doors require
different types of locks. Let’s review some basic and high-tech models to help
you decide what kind of locks fit your needs the best.
Read more at www.otip.com/article136
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| Bill 115 Charter Challenge Remedy Decision |
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In September 2012, the Government imposed collective agreements on Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) members and other education sector workers through legislation called the Putting Students First Act, 2012, also known as Bill 115. In response, five unions – ETFO, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), and Unifor – challenged Bill 115 in Court, arguing that the legislation violated Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In a landmark decision released on April 20, 2016, the Superior Court of Justice held that Bill 115 substantially interfered with collective bargaining contrary to s. 2(d) of the Charter. In his decision, Justice Lederer ruled that Bill 115 infringed on union members’ rights to meaningful collective bargaining under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He also determined that the process the government engaged in was “fundamentally flawed.” At that time, Justice Lederer did not comment on a remedy for the parties, rather the unions and the government were required to meet to determine a remedy. If the parties were unable to reach agreement on a remedy, the matter will be referred back to Justice Lederer for a decision.
Over 18 months, ETFO met with government representatives to negotiate a fair Bill 115 remedy settlement. The settlement offers made by the government were not a fair restitution for the losses experienced by ETFO members as a result of Bill 115. In June 2017, the issue of remedy was referred back to Justice Lederer. The remedy decision was received on February 2, 2022.
Remedy Decision
On February 2, 2022, Justice Lederer issued his decision on the ETFO remedy for the Charter violations that stemmed from the government’s imposition of Bill 115, the Putting Students First Act in 2012. This is the end of a long road for ETFO members, as we have been fighting, and waiting, a long time for a fair remedy. Today marks an end to that wait. The award of damages is significant in the amount of $103,100,000.
“ETFO welcomes Justice Lederer’s decision, but we recognize it does not replace the loss of ETFO members’ bargaining rights, nor the sick leave, gratuities, and salary ETFO members lost when the Ontario government-imposed Bill 115,” says ETFO President Karen Brown. “We thank the court for recognizing that our members’ constitutional rights were violated by a government who unjustly forced contracts on them, froze their pay, and cut sick day provisions as part of an austerity push. Justice Lederer’s decision serves as a reminder to the government that they must never interfere with collective bargaining rights.”
Remedy Summary
In brief, Justice Lederer has ordered a one-time cash payment of damages to eligible ETFO members who were employed by a school board during the 2012-2013 and/or 2013-2014 school year(s). ETFO will release specific details regarding the calculation of damages in our next communication.
Award Eligibility
ETFO members who were employed by a school board between September 1, 2012, and August 31, 2014, including those who are no longer employed by a school board may be eligible if they meet the criteria of the award. Please ensure your employer(s) have your current address on file.
The verification of employment data may take several months. ETFO will also engage in a notification process.
Please be patient. Local offices don’t have specific details at this time and the provincial office will be communicating out in the near future. |
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