Having initially implemented low-level sanctions back on Feb. 20, local occasional teachers will move to the next stage in protest of their lack of a contract with the Rainy River District School Board.
Andrew Hallikas, chief negotiator for the OSSTF District 5B Occasional Teachers’ Bargaining Unit, said Monday that starting this Friday (March 24), occasional teachers will be putting up informational pickets lines at some or all of the board’s high schools once a week until a new deal can be reached.
This means the occasional teachers will not be working in the schools those days, nor will they be paid.
“There will be probably be quite a lot of support on the lines. A lot of the other educational unions are quite interested and are following this,” noted Hallikas.
He added support will be coming from out-of-town, as well.
“It makes it kind of interesting. It’s a unusual labour dispute in that occasional teachers just don’t go on strike,” Hallikas said. “So there’s been quite a lot of interest across the province.”
While negotiations officially broke off last month, Hallikas noted there has been communication between the board and the negotiating team in an effort to come to an understanding.
“However, if we do not reach an agreement within a reasonable amount of time, we will escalate our sanctions again,” he vowed.
The local occasional teachers last month rejected an offer from the public board that included the same salary increase accepted by local elementary occasional teachers.
What the secondary teachers want is for their rate of pay to be tied to the salary grid for regular teachers.
The Lakehead and Superior-Greenstone boards already have settled with their occasional secondary teachers, agreeing to have their salaries tied to the grid.
Over the last several years, regular teachers’ wages have increased by 21 percent while occasional teachers’ wages have gone up only five percent.
Since 2000, local secondary occasional teachers’ wages have slipped from being the sixth best in the province to 26th out of 31.
While the current wage being offered by the board is acceptable, the occasional teachers’ wage eventually would drop over time in relation to regular teachers again unless the wage is tied to the salary grid, Hallikas argued.
Occasional teachers fill in for both short- and long-term periods when regular teachers are ill or absent. They possess the same qualifications as their counterparts.
The secondary occasional teachers have been in a legal strike position since late December. They had voted 100 percent in favour of strike action earlier that month.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
