| Presidents Message
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.
~Robert Louis Stevenson
When I see this quote above, I am reminded that we, as education workers, may not see the outcome we desire as quickly as we might like, but with patience and perseverance, the end result will be beautiful. We plant seeds each day with the students we work with and should be proud of the work we do. With that said, we hope you have enjoyed some time to relax over the summer and are coming back feeling refreshed. Our Local Executive have been hard at work as well getting ready for the 2022-2023 school year.
We are going into a bargaining year, which I know can cause a lot of stress for our members. We will always do our best to keep you informed of any important updates, but please remember there may be some information we are not able to share, based on the rules and restrictions agreed to by the Bargaining Committee.
Our Central Bargaining team has had one meeting with the Ministry and have scheduled a few more tentative dates. Much of the information discussed there cannot be shared because of blackout rules. It’s also important to remember that when you see information shared by other bargaining groups, that does not necessarily mean that OPSEU is negotiating for the same items. We are negotiating as part of the The Ontario Council of Educational Workers (OCEW) which is a group of 7 bargaining units, including OPSEU Sector 3-School Boards.
Our Local Bargaining Committee will be meeting in September to start focusing on what we will negotiate for with the Board. Please keep an eye on your personal email for updates, surveys and meeting invites from Local 2100. We need our members to attend meetings and respond to surveys in order to get an accurate account of the member’s demands.
It’s also important to keep your personal information updated with us. If you have had any changes to your personal information, or email address these updates can be done on your member profile by logging in to our website. If you run into any trouble, logging in or updating your profile, please contact Paulina Medeiros at secretary-treasurer@opseu2100.ca.
If you know of any new hires at your location, please remind them to complete a member application, this is especially important considering this is a bargaining year. Please email Paulina Medeiros at secretary-treasurer@opseu2100.ca with any questions related to completing an application.
If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the Executive.
Wishing you all a good start to the year.
Melody Hurtubise
President
Return to Work
We have had many questions and concerns regarding medical leaves and accommodations. Any member inquiries relating to return to work or accommodation should connect with Natacha Verdiel at secondvp@opseu2100.ca
Please note that members always have the right to immediately engage their right to Union Representative should they feel uncomfortable or uncertain when having verbal conversations with the employer (Abilities Partner) respective to your needs even during a phone call. Once a member asks for Union Representation, the Abilities Partner must allow the call to end and organize another meeting. We assure you, engaging your right to Union representation WILL NOT slow down the process.
Outdoor Kindergarten Spaces
Due to injuries sustained by employees providing care in outdoor Kindergarten spaces and following a recommendation from the Multi Joint Health & Safety Committee (MJHSC), the Board has agreed to do risk assessments of all outdoor kindergarten spaces and add markings to all paths (bike/tricycles etc.) as well as new direction and instruction on supervision of these areas. We sincerely hope this will reduce the risk to our members. Given the amount of schools we support, this work is expected to take place over 2 years.
Workplace Violence Reports & Physical Intervention Reports
We have requested that a memo will be sent to all Administrators with a reminder that Workplace Violence reports MUST be completed EVERY time an incident of violence occurs. Use of physical intervention MUST also be completed EVERY time you are required to “restrict a student’s ability to move”. Forms of restraint we commonly see are, holding of the hand if it is not the student’s choice, preventing a student from exiting a room, blocking doors, etc. Members are obligated to complete and submit these reports by the Employer and the Ministry of Education. It also advises them that it is the Principals responsibility to encourage you and to facilitate receipt of first aid and/or health care during your paid work day. The memo also includes a reminder to Administrators that if you leave work on the day you are injured, CODE 30 Injury/Illness CANNOT be used to code in your absence. We strongly encourage ALL members to continue to complete these reports every time an incident occurs. Please email Natacha Verdiel at secondvp@opseu2100.ca if you have any questions related to the above.
Links to both reports can be found by clicking on the following links or by visiting the Peel Board website.
Workplace Violence Reports: Workplace Incident Reporting – Employee (sharepoint.com)
Physical Intervention Reports: Requests – New item (sharepoint.com)
Health Promotion Attendance Support Program (HPASP)
It has come to our attention that the HPASP has gone through some changes that will take place this school year. The Unions were not consulted in the policy changes and a the Local is filing a grievance. In the meantime, we are working collaboratively with the Abilities Department to identify concerns. If you are called into a meeting regarding your absences, we encourage members to engage their right to have a union representative present even if you are advised that one is not necessary. We will provide further information once we have details. For all HPASP inquiries, please contact April Bello at firstvp@opseu2100.ca or Natacha Verdiel at secondvp@opseu200.ca.
Lunch & Learns
Natacha Verdiel and Cheryl Wing are collaborating to develop virtual lunch and learns. in order to engage and increase our members awareness of your rights and obligations respective to disability, medical leave and accommodation as well as what to expect from the employer and how to navigate the return to work process. We strongly encourage ALL of our Stewards and members attend and engage in these very valuable learning opportunities. More information on lunch and learns will be shared soon.
Professional Learning for Casual Members
We have been in contact with the Employer regarding professional learning for our casual members. The Board continues to assert that Casual members will only be paid to complete OUR Modules, as per the Collective Agreement. PL that can be done through Peel PD, asynchronously, such as the medical administration training(Sabrina’s Law, Ryan’s law, etc) will not be compensated if you choose to complete them.
Floater EA
It has come to our attention that the Board has posted positions for Floater Educational Assistant. We would caution our members that we were unaware of such a position and therefore the terms and conditions are unclear. Until such time that the Board provides us with more information, we may not be able to assist you with questions or concerns about the role. |
