Staff
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation teachers in District 5B (Rainy River) will initiate a selective withdrawal of services starting this Wednesday, (Dec. 9) against the Rainy River District School Board unless a local collective agreement can be reached by that time.
During this local job action, if it goes ahead, secondary teachers will not:
•attend staff meetings and department meetings, and not attend or organize meetings of department heads;
•participate in Professional Learning Communities, non self-directed professional development, and other board/ministry initiatives;
•provide coverage for administrators;
•participate in student success data collection;
•participate in the planning, student preparation, marking, or administration of the EQAO, literacy, and numeracy tests;
•provide progress/interim reports;
•comment on report cards; and
•complete any documents for Credit Recovery.
“The board’s position in bargaining shows a disturbing absence of respect for teachers and the lack of progress at the table has precipitated the team’s decision to move to legal job action,” said District 5B president Kent Kowalski.
“These sanctions indicate the level of importance the board should be placing on reaching a local agreement that meets the needs and interests of our membership,” he added.
“With a central agreement between OSSTF, the government, and the school boards’ association now in place, we are extremely disappointed with the lack of movement toward a local deal in the Rainy River District,” said OSSTF provincial president Paul Elliott.
“We expect a fair local deal that doesn’t seek to undermine the working conditions of our members or the learning conditions of our students,” he noted.
The Rainy River District School Board values its partnership with parents, and will provide any new information and updates as they arise.
There also is a dedicated section accessible from the front of the school board’s website (www.rrdsb.com) for ongoing updates.
The board continues to have confidence in the professionalism of its teachers throughout the negotiation process, and is committed to continuing ongoing discussions.
It remains hopeful an agreement will be reached soon.
