At 9:52 AM Oakville Trafalgar High School administration team sent out a mass email to all parents about the mass student walk out today. About 250 OT students left the school at 9:45 AM. The students are protesting the withdrawal of Teacher support for all extracurricular activities that went into effect today. The teachers are withdrawing this support because of Bill 115.
Bill 115′s top issues are a wage freeze of teacher’s salaries for 2 years, the reduction of sick days from 20 to 10 days per year, the elimination of banked sick days, and the provincial government’s ability to legislate teachers back to work should they decide to strike. A similar contract was accepted by the Catholic Teachers.
Banking of sick days was negotiated in a far earlier contract and allows teachers to carry over all their sick days from year to the next until retirement to a maximum of 6 months. When a teacher retires and they still have sick days – they will receive a payment for up to a 6 months.
Currently, Ontario teachers’ incomes start at $45,000 and can top out at $94,707 for teachers with years of service and a multitude of degrees. They receive 100% extended health-care plan funded by the province, 94% dental plan coverage by the government along with a life insurance plan up to $35,000. They contribute 10.8% of their salary to their pension plan and receive a full pension at the age of 65 or when their years of work plus their age equal 85. They receive 64% of an average of their top 5 years as a pension and it decreases by the same amount when they start receiving CCP.
The work of a teacher is extremely demanding with normally long hours and a high degree of stress. Yet, like many Canadians are finding the provincial government is not able to offer the same level of support that they have in the past. For my son and the children of Oakville parents whose children are in the public school system – we as a community hope that a resolution can be found before the effects of the teachers’ job action hurts the children they are there to teach.
Your voice matters, express your perspective contact:
- Kevin Flynn, MPP, Oakville: [email protected]
- David Euale, Director of Education, Halton District School Board: [email protected]
- Ken Corran, President, Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF): 416-751-8300
- Brad Fisher President, OSSTF District 20 Bargaining Unit: (905) 332-1228
- Jim Young, Chief Negotiator OSSTF District 20 Bargaining Unit: (905) 332-1228
- Hon. Laurel Broten, Ontario Minister of Education: [email protected]