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Progress reports postponed as school boards, teachers continue labour battle

Tentative agreement reached with CUPE
education_school_board_scdsb

Simcoe County District School Board posted the following labour update on its website this afternoon:

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November 2, 2015  

Our priority during any job action is the safety of our students. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates on the status of negotiations and our schools whenever possible. As a board, we respect all of our staff members and value their work.

We remain committed to reaching fair, negotiated agreements with all of our employee groups. 

CUPE  

The collective bargaining agreement between the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) expired on August 31, 2014. In the SCDSB, CUPE represents our custodial and maintenance staff. Since September 10, 2015, CUPE members have been engaged in provincial job action in the form of a work-to-rule campaign.   

On November 2, CUPE reached a tentative agreement at the central bargaining table with the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA).   

The tentative deal must be endorsed by CUPE's local leaders before it is presented to all CUPE members for ratification. CUPE has agreed to suspend central job action while ratification takes place.   

Terms of the tentative agreement have not yet been made public.

Additional information will be shared here as it becomes available.   

Elementary 

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) began provincial job action in the form of a work-to-rule campaign in May 2015. On September 21, they implemented Phase 3 of their work-to-rule job action.

All SCDSB schools remain open for student learning, and all Before and After School Programs are operating as regularly scheduled.  

The SCDSB, along with most other affected school boards in the province, is postponing elementary Progress Reports and Kindergarten Conference Forms.   

Parents/guardians of students with students in our elementary schools will be notified of the postponement via a letter from the Director.    

In addition, on October 22, 2015, ETFO announced an update to Phase 3 of their work-to-rule job action.

As of October 28, 2015, elementary teachers will no longer participate in any extracurricular activities.   

In addition, ETFO has informed teachers that unless significant progress is made at the provincial level, they may move into Phase 4 of the strike action. This means that during the month of October, elementary teachers may begin rotating one-day strikes. 

If rotating strikes are announced, we will provide updates and information through our website, social media channels and through our schools.
 
Unionized Groups in the SCDSB

Unionized groups in the SCDSB include:

CUPE – custodial/maintenance staff - http://cupe.ca
ETFO – permanent elementary teachers, occasional elementary teachers, Designated Early Childhood
Educators - www.etfo.ca (provincial) and www.scetf.org (local)
OSSTF – permanent secondary teachers, occasional secondary teachers, Continuing Education
Instructors - www.osstf.on.ca (provincial) and www.d17.osstf.ca (local)
OPSEU – Support staff (Educational Assistants, secretarial) - www.opseu.org 

Keeping SCDSB School Communities Informed 
Labour situation updates are issued through the following SCDSB communications avenues: 

Website:       www.scdsb.on.ca 
Facebook:    www.facebook.com/SCDSB 
Twitter:        @SCDSB_Schools  

For information about the labour situation across the province, visit the Ontario Public School Boards' Association's Labour Relations page.

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