Peel District School Board

February 20, 2003

OSSTF job sanctions 'needless and disappointing' says Peel board chair
'We should not play power games with students', says McDougald

The Peel District School Board has been informed by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation-District 19 Peel that the board is subject to immediate job sanctions. Despite two days of negotiations on Feb.18 and 19, with the assistance of a provincially-appointed mediator, a settlement was not reached. Letters will be distributed today to secondary students and parents to inform them of the sanctions. The board has 2,314 secondary teachers in 28 schools.

Notes Janet McDougald, chair, Peel District School Board, "This board does not negotiate in public. What we can say is that unfortunately the parties were unable to resolve all compensation issues in either a one or two year collective agreement. The board’s offer includes the entire 3 per cent salary increase the government provided to all school boards for the 2002/2003 school year. I would think that there would be many in our community who would see this as a fair increase, especially in these uncertain economic times."

The OSSTF is saying that the goal of these sanctions is to get us to be serious in negotiations by disrupting the board, not students. This board is serious about reaching a fair settlement. We do not need scare tactics or power games with students. And whatever affects schools affects students. We are bringing all of the resources we have to the table.

Frankly, these sanctions are a needless exercise being played out again and again in boards across the province—the OSSTF even issues news releases with almost the same wording about sanctions in almost every board. It makes me question how serious the OSSTF provincially is in reaching a settlement and providing much-needed stability in our secondary schools. As for this board—we are serious. We want a settlement."

In terms of the sanctions, as of February 20, 2003:

* Secondary teachers will report to work 15 minutes before the start of the school day and leave 15 minutes after the conclusion of classes. The exception will be if the teacher has volunteered for extra-curricular activities. We have been informed that secondary school voluntary extra-curricular activities will continue at this time.
* Teachers will provide only hand written student marks to the office. This means that report cards will not have teacher comments. Parents and students should be aware that the board is reviewing whether it is able to produce report cards under these circumstances.
* Teachers will only attend staff meetings, department meetings, heads' meetings or committee meetings held during regular classroom hours.
* Teachers will report absence due to illness or other circumstances directly to the appropriate administrator instead of the usual board reporting process.

Says McDougald, "At this point, administration is meeting with our secondary principals and vice-principals to review whether it is possible to issue report cards under these sanctions. We have three non-semestered schools just about to do their reporting and we already see the enormity of the problems with these sanctions. I also regret the impact of the sanctions on other staff in our schools—especially our principals and vice-principals."

Letters will be distributed today to secondary students and parents to inform them of the sanctions. Parents can continue to receive updates on the labour situation in the following ways:

Negotiations Update site
Look for updates at www.peelschools.org under Negotiations Update
Negotiations Update line
Call 905-890-1010 and press 6 for updates
FaxBack
Call 905-890-1010 and press 1, document #28050 for fax updates

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Media Contact: Janet McDougald, chair, Peel District School Board, 905-278-1402

Reference: Brian Woodland, Director, Communications and Strategic Partnerships
Support Services, 905-890-1010, ext. 2812

Notes to media: Parent letter is attached.

An important notice for Peel secondary students and parents about job sanctions by teachers-- February 20, 2003

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, District 19, representing secondary school teachers in Peel, has told us it is initiating limited job sanctions as of Thursday, February 20. The teachers are in a legal position to strike, but will not do so at this time. The Peel board does not negotiate in public. What we can say is that unfortunately the parties were unable to resolve all compensation issues in either a one or two year collective agreement. The board’s offer includes the entire 3 per cent salary increase the government provided to all school boards for the 2002/2003 school year.

We want you to clearly understand the status of our schools during this time of sanction. As of February 20, 2003:

We thought it was important to provide you with this information as quickly as possible. We hope the secondary teachers do not choose to escalate the sanctions, but that is a possibility. The board does appreciate the impact any disruption would cause for our students. If you have questions, or want to know what is happening in Peel schools during the sanctions, here are the ways to get information:

Of course, you may also want to speak to your local trustee. We want to reach a fair, negotiated settlement with our secondary teachers and we are willing to give every penny provided to us by the government for salary increases. Our focus during these negotiations is the interests of our students, and we are committed to keeping parents and our community informed. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Janet McDougald, Chair