Bulletin Vol. 20, No 1 Sep 2017
Workloads
Your assigned workload consists of your minutes for teaching, remediation, supervision, homeroom and support (box 1 of the workload summary sheet). Workloads have to be signed in the schools by October 15th every year. As of October 15th, your workload cannot be modified without your consent. If administrators wish to modify any assigned minutes, they must receive your permission first before making any changes.
Waivers
At the secondary level, teachers may be asked to sign waivers concerning three (3) clauses of the Collective Agreement if the conditions shown below are not respected:
1. One (1) preparation period per day;
2. 50-minute uninterrupted lunch period between 11:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.;
3. Assigned duties exceeding 150 consecutive minutes.
Furthermore, I would like to remind you of some rules related to the use of waivers. As you may know, waivers shall be the exception and the school organization shall not be done on the assumption that everyone will sign a waiver. A teacher cannot be forced to sign a waiver and has the right to refuse. In such case, the principal must follow the application of the Collective Agreement and redo the schedule of the teacher in order to respect the agreement. If you choose not to sign the waiver, simply inform your principal as soon as possible and the necessary changes will be made.
Partial Leaves of Absence
If you are working at a reduced workload, you must take into consideration that a full school year for a teacher working at a 100% is composed of 180 teaching days and 20 pedagogical days for a total of 200 workdays. If you are working at an 80% workload, you will have to work a total of 160 days including ped. days.
It is important that you take the time to calculate the number of teaching days in order to identify how many ped. days you will have to work. Once you have determined how many ped. days you must work, you need to discuss with your principal which of those ped. days you will attend according to Clause 8-12.10 of the Local Collective Agreement. You should have this in writing either in a letter signed by the principal or in an email. Make sure to keep a copy of the letter or email.
While on a partial leave, to have a year of experience recognized, you will have to work a minimum of 155 days. When a secondary-level teacher obtains a partial leave without salary which entails being released from one group of students only and that this leave alone does not allow him or her to accumulate the required 155 days, the board shall also recognize a year of experience for him or her, e.g. if you are a Math teacher and teach 4 groups for a total of 24 periods, you would have to take a 25% leave of absence. If you have a 75% workload, you will accumulate 150 days.
Schedule for Absence Deduction
What is the difference between your workload and the schedule for absence deduction purposes? The workload is as explained in the preceding paragraph. The schedule for absence deduction purposes includes other assigned duties (box 2 of the workload summary sheet) and your personal work (box 3 of the workload summary sheet). There is no deadline in the Collective Agreement for this to be completed, however, it is in your best interests to submit it right away at the beginning of the school year to avoid being deducted a full day (384 minutes) for every absence. If changes occur, revise and resubmit each time. This document is used to prepare your absence report at the school which is sent to HR. Failure to submit it will result in losing more pay than necessary.
Deductions for Sick days or 5-14.06 vs Special Leaves
Sick days and absences due to leaves for family responsibilities (5-14.06) will be deducted from your current year sick day bank to a maximum of 6 days covered by salary provided you have days left in your sick day bank. The rest of the days to a maximum of 10 days can be taken at your own cost. These leaves can be deducted by the minute. As per the new Provincial Agreement, all unused sick days will be paid at the end of the school year. Deductions for special leaves (social days) will be deducted by the day as indicated in the local agreement (5-14.02). It is possible to take certain days (5-14.02 (e) and (m)) in half days. It is to be noted that, for the past 2 years, all personal medical appointments are deducted from your bank of sick days and not from your social leaves bank.
Substitution for an Undetermined Period of Time
If the absence of a teacher is not predetermined to be 40 days, a contract will not be issued. After 20 days of replacing the same person without missing more than 3 scheduled workdays, the substitute teacher is entitled to be paid retroactively back to the first day worked at his/her scale based on schooling and previous experience (you must make sure all official university transcripts and any letters of work experience from previous employers in a related field should be sent to HR as soon as possible). After 40 days of replacing the same person without missing more than 3 scheduled workdays, the substitute will be entitled to a contract retroactive to the first day worked. It is important to remember that the issuing of a contract is based on the official paperwork that the employee sends to HR. The information floating around the schools might not always be accurate so it is best to check with LTU or HR directly about the status of your replacement.
Pre-identified Pedagogical Days for ECA Compensation
At Teacher Council, remind the school principal to identify at least four (4) pedagogical days during which teachers will be able to use the ECA deferred compensation day(s) in addition to the four (4) pedagogical days at the end of the school year according to Clause 8-12.12.06 of the Local Collective Agreement.
Local Negotiations
On September 12th and 13th there will be workshops for delegates. Following these workshops, the delegates will go back to the schools and explain to teachers what the LTU Executive is recommending to be undertaken in the local negotiations and will consult with the teachers on what they feel are the priorities. It is important that teachers participate in the consultation process with the delegates.
CNESST
If you have made a CNESST claim for a work accident, we encourage you to give us a call at the office to let us know. CNESST can become quite complicated and we might be able to foresee an issue or give you additional information. A quick phone call or email to LTU could help to avoid any surprises down the road.
You can go on Facebook and like our page Laurier Teachers Union.
OFFICE STAFF
Stephanie McLellan: President
smclellan@ltu.ca
Stephan Ethier: DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP WELFARE
sethier@ltu.ca
Serge Landry: Director of Pedagogical Affairs
slandry@ltu.ca
Kathy Morrow: Administrative Assistant
kmorrow@ltu.ca
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at
450-667-7037 / 1-800-301-1351
email: laurierteachersunion@ltu.ca