Back to square one

Earlier this year I said: "I believe the government's second goal of these, ummm, let's call them talks, was a standardized collective agreement for teachers and educational staff." Sadly what the provincial government couldn't impose on teachers, it is now trying to impose on school boards.  Boards have been told that it's not good enough to simply implement the terms of new collective agreements.  Rather according to Ministry of Education Memorandum B9, school boards are to incorporate verbatim the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) into signed agreements: 

"In particular, the following items are to be appended to, and form part of, the existing local collective agreement without amendment: 

• Job Security for Support Staff 
• Maternity Benefits 
• Voluntary Unpaid Leave of Absence Program for All Bargaining Units 
• Unpaid Days and Offsetting Measures for Teacher Bargaining Units
• Reconciliation for Teacher Bargaining Units
• Attendance Recognition 
• Sick Leave/Short-Term Sick-Leave Disability Plan 
• Long-Term Disability 
• Non-vested Retirement Gratuity for Employees 
• Specialized Job Classes" 

Let's look back.  Last year as a matter of principle, a number of school boards and trustees took a stand against Bill 115, which had imposed agreements on parties not participating in negotiations, specifically on public school teachers and teacher unions. From an earlier post:

"It's about freely entering into a contract. ... So the concept of an imposed contract, an agreement imposed by a third party, is a bit of an oxymoron.  I'm no lawyer, not even close, but to impose an agreement is generally outside the law except in the case of a designated essential service.  In other cases, employees have a right to negotiate."

As employers under the Education Act, school boards also have an obligation and a right to negotiate.  As well, school boards are a separate level of government.  Boards were not at the negotiations table and now we are told that we must incorporate the MOU, incorporate its exact wording, into our collective agreements.

School boards are the oldest form of democratic government in Canada and we take our duties seriously.  We are required by law to take responsibility for "student achievement and well-being."  Yet many of us have serious concerns about the content of a document we did not negotiate and as the Memorandum implies, we must sign off on it.  But I can't help but feel that if I were to do so, I would be acting in bad faith toward my constituents and the students I represent.

It's a 'catch-22' situation.  If school boards don't incorporate the MOU, they don't receive the money to implement the terms of the agreements.  With declining student enrollment and the roll-out of full-day kindergarten, many school boards are in a financial bind and without this additional money, may not be able to implement the terms of the agreements.  
Trustees are reputable politicians and are paid next to nothing, sometimes as little as $5000 annually, for long hours of work.  At the end of the day, we often hang our hats on genuine concern for children and education.

There's an old joke sometimes ascribed to W.C. Fields with the punchline, "We have established what you are -- we are simply haggling about the price."  The Liberals don't appear to have learnt much from their loss to Trustee Catherine Fife in the Kitchener-Waterloo by-election last September.  Perhaps a figurative slap from Trustee Peggy Sattler in the upcoming London West by-election will bring the message home.


The views expressed in this blog are personal opinions only.