Newsletters


E a s t e r n   U p d a t e - Monday, September 8, 2003

Staff Reps: Please contact the Unit Office to let us know who the staff rep is for your school for the coming year. Staff Rep in-service is tentatively scheduled for early October. We will send out a notice to confirm date, time and location as soon as possible.

QECO

If you have taken any courses which may change your QECO rating, ensure you provide proof to the school board of your application to QECO. Article 6.03 ensures that with the receipt of such proof the salary adjustment will be retroactive to September 1.

Contractual Rights – Working Conditions

As outlined in our contract all teachers have the right to:
160 minutes prep time per week for elementary teachers
2 PPD days and 2 early dismissal days for elementary teachers
6 credit instructional load for secondary teachers as part of 6.67
40 consecutive minutes for lunch each day for all teachers

Ensure you realize these working conditions. A right given up by one teacher is a right that can be denied to all. Contact the Unit Office if any of these are not realized by all teachers in your school.

School Visits: Ann and I will be visiting schools over the next weeks to meet informally with teachers, provide you with a survey to secure information about your teaching conditions and answer any questions you may have.

Who is at your Unit Office to serve you?
President Marilies Rettig
Vice-President Ann McGahey
Secretary Sandy Thornton
Phone: 1-888-250-3799
Fax: 613-258-0842

Provinicial Election News

Fellow teachers, as you are aware, a provincial election has been called for October 2, 2003. It is no coincidence that this election was called on the first day of school, as the premier has put teachers front and centre in his election platform. The only issue relative to education this Premier is addressing is removing teachers’ right to strike. Education should be at the forefront of the provincial election, but the focus should not be on this ongoing agenda of confrontation with teachers.

Look at this government’s track record over the past 8 years in which the first Minister of Education wanted to “create a crisis in the classrooms”. Here is how the Harris & Eves government achieved that goal:

• billions of dollars cut from education budgets
• larger classes.
• a lack of textbooks.
• fewer resources in the classrooms.
• inadequate special education funding.
• fundraising to secure basic supplies in our schools.
• recertification.
• school board amalgamations.
• school closures.
• portraying teachers as unprofessional, uncaring and overpaid.

It is imperative that we as teachers get involved in the upcoming provincial election. We need to ensure that we elect a government that will support public education and afford us with the respect and support that is our due as a profession. On October 2nd make your vote count – elect a government that will support education – our students deserve no less.