English Catholic teachers to start administrative job action Monday if no deal

Ontario’s English Catholic teachers, including those locally, will start administrative job action on Monday, unless a tentative deal is reached with the province.

They won’t be doing things like preparing report cards, taking part in EQAO-related activities and attending or participating in Ministry of Education initiatives.

In November, over 97 percent of members voted for strike action, if necessary.

“We have not taken this decision lightly, but we believe it is necessary to secure a fair contract and protect publicly funded education in Ontario,” says Liz Stuart, President of OECTA. “We have been doing our part to negotiate an agreement, including meeting almost 40 times with the government and school board trustees. However, the Ford government has been disorganized and disrespectful throughout the process, and they continue to insist on an agreement that includes significant cuts.”

The action will continue until a tentative agreement is reached.

Further strike action, including a possible full withdrawal of services, could become necessary if the government refuses to change their positions.

Talks are slated for Thursday and Friday.

“As we go back to the bargaining table this week, Catholic teachers call on the government to abandon their preoccupation with slashing spending, recognize that publicly funded education is an investment, and finally get serious about working toward an agreement that protects our world-class education system,” says Stuart.

This job action will include the following:

Report Cards: OECTA members shall not participate in the preparation and inputting of report card comments, including learning skills.
– Members shall input marks only on the report cards;
– Kindergarten teachers shall only input one sentence per frame;
– OECTA members in secondary schools shall not prepare progress report cards.

Data Entry: OECTA members shall not enter diagnostic testing data in school board systems.

EQAO: OECTA members shall not participate in any EQAO-related activities, including field testing, marking, administrative duties, test preparation, and administration of the test.

Ministry of Education Initiatives: OECTA members shall not attend or participate in any meetings, and/or undertake tasks related to any Ministry of Education initiative.
– OECTA members shall not conduct or submit any student assessment data (i.e., OnSis/MISA) for any purpose other than their own personal student assessment.

Meetings: OECTA members shall not attend staff meetings, department meetings, divisional meetings, Ministry or board in-services, or any other such activity.

Professional Development (PD) Days: OECTA members will engage in self-directed professional development activities on PD days. Members must report to their regularly assigned workplace on any PD days that occur during the job action, and determine how to use that time to best meet their professional development needs.

(File photo by station staff)