Toronto high school teachers threaten job action despite deal

Although most Ontario teachers unions have reached tentative labour deals with the government, the labour unrest is far from over in many high schools.

• OSSTF threatens job action if no deal between union, TDSB

• ETFO reaches tentative labour deal with Ontario government

For example, public high school teachers in Toronto could begin withdrawing certain services on Wednesday if they do not come to an agreement with the Toronto District School Board on a number of local issues.

So how is it that teachers in some schools are still threatening job action if the province and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) came to an agreement in August?
 
It's because Ontario's new, two-tiered model for negotiating teacher labour contracts means getting a deal with the province is only half the battle. While the big issues — salary, benefits and workload — are hammered out at the provincial bargaining table, local issues are left to be negotiated with local school boards.
 
Doug Jolliffe, president of a local Toronto unit of the OSSTF, said provincial agreements leave many significant workplace issues outstanding between teachers and the school boards that employ them.

"We still have local issues to deal with," Jolliffe said in an interview Tuesday on CBC Radio's Metro Morning.

Jolliffe cited the following issues are examples of local matters that need to be sorted out between his union and the TDSB:

• School safety: Jolliffe said his union has been pressing to get communication systems installed in classrooms that allow teachers to contact the office, particularly in the case of a classroom emergency. "When teachers encounter problems, there's no way of communicating outside their classroom," he said.
• Administrators on site all day: Jolliffe said school administrators are often away at meetings, leaving teachers with no one to go to should a problem arise. "We're looking to ensure that teachers are not isolated, where they don't have anybody around if they need help."

In boards across the province, other local issues remain outstanding. Jolliffe admits much of the outstanding issues are "inside baseball" and administrative in nature.

Still, until those issues get solved, his members will continue job action that includes not filling in for absent colleagues and not performing "certain administrative duties." However, his members will continue to submit students marks.

Jolliffe said the job action is directed at school administrators, not students.

"The goal is to put pressure on school administrators so that they, in turn, put pressure on their superiors and on and up the food chain."

The TDSB has said it hopes an agreement can be reached "in the very near future so that there is no impact to our students and schools."