Teachers' Unit - Bill 177

1st Vice President, Anthony Marco was asked for input into a Ontario Network of Trustees press release that was issued earlier this week calling for public hearings on Bill 177. The press release was a combined effort of ONT (Ontario Network of Trustees), OSSTF District 21 and the Hamilton-Wentworth Elementary Teachers' Local.

The questions used to generate content for the press release included issues on the erosion of local democracy and the lack of definition for the term "Student Achievement" in the bill.

Here are the unedited quotations submitted for the release:

On the threat to local school board trustees...

"While we may not agree with our local trustees on everything, on this we do agree. Bill 177 strips away the voices of school trustees from voters in a way that is undemocratic and destructive to a peaceful, stable future for public education.”

On the lack of definition of the term "Student Achievement" as it relates to the job expectations of all employees...

"Bill 177 makes the jobs of everyone remotely tied to a school board responsible for a 'student achievement' without defining what students are supposed to 'achieve'. Education and learning are processes. Achievements are trophies. I hope the roles of education workers across Ontario are about contributing to the life-long learning of students, no matter which 'trophies' they might attain."

A recent press release put out by the OSSTF provincial office had similar concerns which are shared by District 21:

"Instead of supporting genuine student achievement, components of Bill 177 promote a system where statistical excellence is the goal, not quality education. Rather than increasing the public’s confidence in education, it will diminish it by creating an education system where authentic learning and assessment and evaluation are replaced by the fear of not measuring up to a benchmark, thus triggering intervention by the Ministry of Education.

The success of a student, a school or a school board cannot be measured solely by statistics. Ensuring that school boards are able to provide the necessary staff, resources, programs and supports to enable students to achieve their goals and be prepared for their futures is an important task entrusted to the Ministry of Education. Balancing the need for support and the necessity for intervention is difficult, but the Ministry must ensure that any actions it takes truly puts students first and everything else second. OSSTF/FEESO does not support Bill 177, in its current form, as this is clearly not the case. OSSTF/FEESO calls upon the government to delay final reading of Bill 177 and move to real public consultation on the legislation and its impact upon school board governance, student achievement and credit integrity."

The full provincial OSSTF press release can be found here.

For further information on Bill 177, please feel free to contact the District Office. The back page of the September issue of Insight provided some background on the key issues in the bill.

Bill 177 passed Second Reading at Queen's Park two days ago. There has still been no commitment on the part of the Liberal government for FULL PUBLIC hearings on this bill.

Provincial OSSTF Positions On H1N1

The information listed below indicates OSSTF positions on H1N1 for more extensive discussions to be conducted during the October 9, 2009 TTAC/SWAG meeting. (TTAC and SWAG are the Provincial Discussion Groups that include all education unions, the Ministry of Education, and OPSBA) The content below is abridged. The provincial office has indicated it will soon have information up on its website. These positions HAVE NOT been agreed to by our employer or the Ministry. We are hopeful, after further discussion, the Ministry will agree to some, if not all, of the following.

1) Medically Fragile Workers (e.g. Immuno-depressed, Expectant Mothers)

OSSTF/FEESO wants to be on the record that we disagree with the “no greater risk” position of the employers and insist that pregnant women and other medically fragile employees are accommodated to maximize their safety.

2) Reducing Exposure to Ill Staff and Students

Employers must take all necessary precautions to minimize the exposure to ill staff and students. OSSTF/FEESO is also concerned that established attendance management policy adopted by some employers will unduly pressure employees to go to work even if they have symptoms. OSSTF/FEESO believes it is reasonable, for tracking purposes, during the pandemic, to request that employees identify if "flu-like symptoms" are responsible for the absence. OSSTF/FEESO expects full disclosure of incidence levels at each workplace and within the system.

3) Hand Washing/Hand Sanitizers/Tissues

OSSTF/FEESO expects that prevention protocols are already in place and that each employer has met with union leaders to ensure that the prevention protocols are active and ready in each workplace. OSSTF/FEESO is also concerned that these protocols may rely heavily on staff in the system, increasing their supervision, reporting, cleaning etc work on top of their already full workload.

4) Special H1N1 Funding

The government must provide support funding for safety equipment, additional cleaning, appropriate additional cleaning supplies and temporary/replacement workers. If the outbreak materializes, the government and employer’s position that business will continue “as usual” will require replacement staff be available in all job categories.

5) School/Worksite Closure

OSSTF/FEESO demands that school closure information and thresholds are consistent and fully transparent. Criteria must be established to determine the viability of a worksite on any given day. It should never be up to the tolerance level of the staff that keeps a workplace open in high absentee conditions. Decisions to close schools/worksites will be discussed in collaboration with the local public health unit, the school board and union representatives.

6) School Year

There will be no extension to the school year due to closures of schools as a result of H1N1.

7) Education Sector Committee

The Ministries of Health and Education must commit that information dealing with the handling of H1N1 be made available to all key stakeholders and that the government will provide regular updates to the education sector. In addition, a K-12 Education Sector Committee must be established consisting of education sector unions, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Labour representatives to provide advice to the field and to the Ministries on H1N1.