DEMYSTIFYING THE ETFO BARGAINING TABLE
BY KIMIKO INOUYE
as long-term occasional members, your abil- ity to take paid sick leave because you caught the flu or care leave to take a family member to a medical appointment, for example, is established in your ETFO collective agree- ment. For occasional members, the infor- mation you receive from the principal upon arrival for an assignment is likely defined in the collective agreement. For designated early childhood educators (DECEs), whether you receive professional time is determined through bargaining. For education support personnel (ESP) and professional support personnel (PSP), your collective agreements include provisions on the equitable distribu- tion of supervision time. These and other provisions – including
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salary increases, grievance procedures, prepa- ration and supervision time, pregnancy leave benefits, staffing procedures and seniority – have been negotiated over many years, and reach beyond any legislated labour or em- ployment standards. Currently, for example, full-time permanent and long-term occasion- al ETFO members have access to 11 paid sick leave days per school year and a short-term
18 ETFO VOICE | FALL 2019
s an ETFO educator, your collective agreement plays a key role in your day-to-day work life. For permanent education workers, as well
leave and disability plan of 120 days at 90 per- cent salary. Ontario’s Employment Standards Act allows for a mere three sick leave days per year, which are unpaid. (See “ETFO’s 2019 Round of Collective Bargaining” in the 2019 spring issue of Voice for more details). Key improvements to class size have also
been achieved through negotiations between unions, school boards and the government. In the 2017 extension round of bargaining, for example, ETFO successfully negotiated Kindergarten class size caps and closed the gap on grades 4-8 class size averages in cer- tain boards to ensure that they didn’t go over the 24.5 student limit. ETFO also bargained improvements to class size at the 2004-08 provincial discussion table negotiations. While changes to class size are not always ne- gotiated, ETFO takes your concerns on class size and composition into account when bar- gaining for improved terms and conditions of employment and better school and learn- ing environments for all students.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Public education sector bargaining in Ontario has been fraught with struggles over decision- making power, often within the context of ed- ucation funding and policy reforms driven by political agendas. Joseph B. Rose provides a
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