What are these positions?
These positions guarantee rehire in September. The board has an obligation to employ these teachers every year. If there is no teaching load for these teachers they are placed on availability where they are still paid and considered employees of the board. In these situations the teachers can be asked to do supply work or any other reasonable work that the board needs completed. There have been very few cases of teachers on availability since the 70’s. These positions are not guarantees of the following
Permanency does not affect your pension, benefits or union representation vs being a contract teacher. Yes, Teachers can be fired. The procedures for being fired are the same for regular teachers and teachers that are on the recall list, or even teachers not on the recall list. There are certain actions that allow the board to summarily dismiss a teacher. There are other patterns of behaviour that, if documented, will allow the board to dismiss a teacher. Your status doesn’t change these. Non-rehiring, what does that mean? To be removed from the recall list also has a set of criteria. HR or Administration cannot summarily decide to remove someone from the recall list without justification. Any of the reasons that would allow the board to fire a teacher can be used to justify a non-rehire and removal of a teacher from the recall list. In addition, failing 2 evaluations will result in a teacher being removed from the recall list. Requirements for permanent positions
Successful Evaluations: The successful evaluations are actually the more straightforward requirement. Teachers should be evaluated every year, until they have two satisfactory evals in their file. After that evaluation usually occurs sporadically throughout a teacher's career. As often as every 5 years, even if there are no specific concerns. 100% Contracts: The contract part is more tricky. There are several ways to have a 100% contract that do not count towards permanency. It’s a replacement contract These contracts can vary in percentage and several can be stitched together to create a post. For instance, my first 100% contract was 40% in my name, and 20% in the name of another math teacher, another 20% in yet another teacher’s name, and 20% in a third teacher’s name. One of these other teachers was on progressive retirement and the other two had part time leaves.This contract did not contribute towards permanency. It’s a contract that relies on Mesure money Mesure monies are special budgets that are not guaranteed to be renewed from year to year. The unreliability of the budget means that they do not contribute to the permanent positions in a school board. Often the school Board will “top up” contracts with mesure money to make them more attractive posts. They might use mesure money to increase a 60% position to a 100% position. This means a teacher will get paid at 100%, but the contract does not count towards being permanent. This should be disclosed to the teacher when the position is being offered. Though it never hurts to ask! No matter what kind of contract you have, your work experience will be counted towards your seniority once you become a permanent (tenure) teacher. 2 Prior Consecutive Contracts It’s on your 3rd consecutive 100% contract in your name that you will become permanent. There can be no breaks in between these contracts. Certain events like sick leaves or Parental leaves do not interrupt this process. Never attended a really formal meeting before? Don’t worry! There’s a book we all use called Robert’s rules of Order, but we’ve got a cheat sheet for you. In short, we try to run meetings fairly, so that everyone can have a chance to be heard and that actions(motions) are voted on in an informed and fair way. The main points to remember are: To speak:
Please remember that while others are talking, you should be listening. Even if you don’t like or agree with what they are saying, they are allowed to talk. Final opinions are given with the vote. Voting:
If you want more details download the cheat sheet or buy the full book and read away!
The government and school boards hold most of the cards when it comes to preventing a strike. A supportive workspace does not push it’s employees to work past their breaking points and minimize their concerns. An employer who doesn’t want strikes does not say a burnt out teacher is a teacher to be admired. An employer who wishes to avoid a strike listens.
Kind words at the eleventh hour are not enough. Kind words that are backed by signatures on an injunction against our legal strikes. Kind words that are backed by using a pandemic response measure to make their own lives easier. Kind words backed by an endorsement of work harder and longer with barely cost of living salary increases. Kind words backed by “we need only meet the minimum of the agreement not be better than it.” We are striking because kind words are not enough anymore. Our kind words have fallen on deaf ears. We must return the favour and show that we too can turn a deaf ear to pleasantries and act. See you on the picket lines. Teaching is an odd profession. Most if not all “promotions” require a person to stop being a teacher. This reality makes these changes more daunting than for many other professions. There are many people who are livelong teachers and will never consider a “promotion”. That’s a valid choice, teach on! If you’re wondering about the options inside the board, read on! There are two main types of promotions that are seen as a natural progression from teaching within a board. They entail different job duties and should be considered if you enjoy the respective types of work. Administration: The main role of a principal is to be a manager. We call them educational leaders and describe the vision we want them to have of schools and education, but at the end of the day can they manage people? Do you like people? Can you give clear direct feedback in a sensitive and respectful way? Can you advocate for your staff at the school board? Are you comfortable with uncertainty? Can you let go of control and give others autonomy? Are you comfortable with conflict? Can you meet deadlines and organize your time? Consultant: There are several types of consultant positions. In general, what they have in common is supporting teachers. These positions involve developing materials and tools to help teachers in their classrooms. These roles are non managerial. That means you can’t actually tell anyone what to do. Your job is to listen to the needs of specific teachers or groups of teachers and find ways to help them. Either with suggestions of methods, strategies or other implementable options. This a good choice for people that like people and research. Consultants should also have a thick enough skin that they don’t take things too personally. A rejection of a method/philosophy/idea should be water off a duck’s back to them. Once you’ve considered your career path, you still don’t know if you’ll enjoy the new position. Often, we like the idea of something more than the reality. There is an agreement in the RTU local that gives you some grace time to try out a non-teaching position. Temporary positions can be tried out for up to 2 years without losing tenure. Permanent positions can be tried out for 1 year without losing tenure. This means that you retain your fulltime permanent position, and your post at your school. In either case you have one further year where you retain your permanency, but not your school post. After that year you lose your permanent position, but come back at top of the recall list. After 3 years, you start back at the bottom. These grace years are not part of the provincial agreement. They are part of the RTU-RSB locally negotiated agreement. The RTU has accepted these clauses as membership has shown a desire for them. The hope is that it will allow for a higher quality of administrator and consultant. In general, RTU and QPAT do not like permanent positions being held by people who are not teaching. No one wants half the permanent positions in a board being held by the administrators and consultants indefinitely. That would mean around 60 permanent positions would be held until retirement by non-teachers, that RTU and QPAT do not represent. Remember, once you leave teaching RTU and QPAT no longer represent you. RTU and QPAT membership is based on professionally teaching, not teaching as an identity.
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These are 2 main banks of days that teachers in the RSB can use during the school year. SICK DAYS The first is sick days. They are what they sound like, if you or a minor in your care is ill you use a sick day to cover it. These are generally last minute-ish. They are not planned days. A 100% teacher has 6 of these a year. A part time teacher has their % of 6 a year. Currently, any unused sick days are paid out as a day of work on a separate paycheck at the end of the year. If you are in Voc Ed, this payment is rolled into your last paycheck of the year.
SPECIAL LEAVE DAYS There are several subcategories of special leave days. These sub-categories have their own total amounts allowed, and circumstances they cover. Some of the most used reasons are medical appointments, bereavements, and family responsibilities. Unused days of this type are not paid out at the end of the year. These days are NOT refunded in case of emergency non-workdays. (Snow days) Some of the categories require documentation. Documentation can be requested for others, but it’s rare. Whatever Combination of categories are used, the yearly overall cap is 8 days a year for a 100% teacher. A part time teacher has their % of 8 a year. There are basic conditions for these days negotiated at the provincial level, and further details or benefits negotiated at the local level. The local negotiations must fall within the provincial guidelines. Medical appointments and Family Responsibilities A full-time teacher has up to 5 days that can be used for medical appointments. A part time teacher has their % of 5 a year. They can be taken in full day or half day increments. Planning these days and submitting them to AESOP in advance can increase your chances of having your desired supply teacher cover you. Family responsibilities in the form of illness of family members that are minors fall under this category, and can only be used if your sick day bank is empty. Documentation is generally not required for medical appointments, but can be asked for. The 5 days that cover medical appointments and family illness is also used to cover:
Bereavement There are days for “immediate family”. Immediate family is a specific term which is defined as the people you live with, your spouse, your children, your parents, grandparents, and siblings. Parents-in-law are also included. In these cases, you have up to 5 days starting within a week of their death. Brothers or sisters-in-law, sons or daughters-in-law, or grandchildren are not considered immediate family, but you get 1 day to attend their funeral. Extra days are available if you must travel over certain distances to the funeral. There are no other Special leave bereavement leaves. Documentation can be requested. (Obituary, other death announcement) Other Reasons for Special Leaves
Urgent business This one is tempting and vague. The Board has to approve of these on a case by case basis, and they generally reject everything. If your pipes burst in the morning, you might be able to use this one. As a rule, whatever is happening, the board doesn’t consider it urgent business. Documentation is always required. My reason isn’t here! Unfortunately, then there probably isn’t a special leave category that covers you. You can ask for a leave without pay. These need to be submitted to your administration in advance and are subject to approval. If approved, you won’t need to work that day, but you also won’t get paid. No days that prolong summer, Christmas or March break are granted. Contact us for advice in advance, and then email your principal. However, if it’s jury duty, professional improvement, a pandemic, or certain other reasons there are specific non-negotiated, non-benefit, codes that have you covered to some degree. Some of these don’t include getting paid, just not getting disciplined. If you are a no-show or caught mis-using sick days/special leave days, you can be disciplined. Why aren’t all the absence codes listed here? This article focused on the days that are related to your personal circumstances that you can use paid time off for. These are benefits that the unions have negotiated for and continue to defend. Many of the absence codes cover situations that are not negotiated benefits, but edicts from other government bodies, or the administration. I have a weird specific scenario… Contact us! Give us a call, send us an email or use the above contact form to let us know. At the least, we can clarify and there may be something more we can do!
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Suicide Prevention First, If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts like:
Contact 1 866 277 3553 at any time 24/7. For more information on suicide visit Quebec.ca Employee Assistance Plan - RSB (1 877 257 5557) There are many mental health challenges that people face that are immediate and require the help of a professional but are not life-threatening. Some examples are personal relationship problems, losing a loved one, conflict at work, and many others. Some signs that you could use some help are:
In this case, RSB’s EAP is an excellent choice. EAP stands for Employee Assistance Plan. Through this plan yourself and your family have access to 5 hours of therapy per issue. For example, you’ve been feeling pressured at work and it’s stared to affect your ability to relax outside of work. You could use 5 hours of therapy for this. At the same time your child is being bullied at school, they can use 5 hours of therapy for this. Meanwhile, a change in job responsibilities is causing your spouse undue stress, causing irritability, they can use 5 hours for this. In addition, a family member dies, you all get an individual 5 hours to deal with this issue. EAP Confidentiality RSB is not informed which employees are using the plan or why. This would breach the prescribed standards of confidentiality set by the Quebec government.(source) Licensed therapists cannot disclose your mental health records any more than doctors can without your consent. If they do, they can be subject to disciplinary actions. This does mean that you cannot ask for your spouse’s or adult children’s records. In order to access the EAP service any member of your family can phone 1 877 2575557 at any time. Your family members simply need to identify which RSB employee they are related to. There is also an app that can be used. Info here. Starling Minds - QPAT If you want to follow a program on your own time that will help with skills for general well-being and to practice before a crisis, then starling minds may be a good choice. This program is provided to you and your family by QPAT. If you were considering headspace, or other paid for well-being apps, try this one first. This site is about practising new ways to think, breathe and approach life. It’s a long term endeavour. You don’t wait for the big game to try a slap shot, and the same applies here. Use this program right now! Practice the techniques when life is easier, so that when it’s hard you use them automatically. Stay healthy and know that there are help services there for you! edited March 24 to make EAP number easier to find. updated 1/11/2021 new phone number and information for EAP |
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