We are all waiting for 4 things with bated breath:
Wheeeeeeen! Salary Increase: 1 or 2 pay periods after signing Retropay: 60 calendar days after signing Insurance contributions: Happening as we speak! There is a SNAFU as the government and the Commun Front fight over whether the contribution should only be 50% for any teacher working less than 75%. It has been temporarily resolved as the insurance company has no idea as to a teacher’s contract percentage. As such all members will receive a monthly premium reduction that corresponds to your family status as declared to IA. These deductions should take effect June 1st, 2024. The premium deduction will be revisited in January of 2025. The government is still pushing for their contribution threshold. However, we all pay full premiums and should receive full applicable coverage regardless of employment status. In light of this the Commun front is still pushing for the original union understanding of the promise to be upheld. Signing!?! Yep, we agreed to a deal in principle, but as the insurance issue above highlights, that’s not every little detail. Our negotiators are working on every little detail as we speak. Checking every preposition and comma to guarantee no sneaky little changes are enshrined in the text. Our QPAT negotiators are hopeful that the signing will take place in early June, but can’t make promises with accuracy and our rights being more important than speed right now. So, again like when then! Best case: Sign in Early June Salary: Mid June Retropay: End of July Worstish case: Sign in Late September Salary: Mid October Retropay: Late November/Early December STRIKE PAY ERRORS There were plenty of them. Enough of them there was no way the board would fix them all within the 40 day grieving window. So, RTU along with nearly all local unions has filed a grievance in regards to the equity of how strike pay was administered. So when will it be fixed? After the grievances go to the Labour Court, a judge decides whether strike pay was applied in an equitable manner. The school board is awaiting this decision before they implement any solutions. A date? At last check, grievances took around a year to be heard. Grieving is not a fast process. In this situation due to the extensiveness of the issues and the unlikelihood of it being solved within 40 days, RTU had no choice but to grieve. Why so long? The courts system is not known for its speedy resolution of cases in any branch of law. Labour law is no different. This is why local unions, RTU included, focus on local negotiated solutions so much. As slow as those negotiations are, they are almost always faster than the legal system. Hopefully a local solution will be found to this issue as well. 40 days? A grievance must be filed within 40 working days of the cause. After the 40 days it’s a done deal and the union or individual cannot grieve a situation anymore. If there is a non-antagonistic relationship between a local union and a school board, issues can be dealt with and settled outside this window.
The commun front has released a document outlining the new agreement. Here are some highlights. Find the complete document here.
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