#osstf

Ontario secondary school teachers have voted in favour of a bargaining proposal with the province that could include the process of binding interest arbitration, but not a strike, to resolve outstanding issues.

Members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) voted 78.4 per cent in favour of the proposal, the union said Wednesday.

In a news release, President Karen Littlewood said the vote approves a "proposal that will put all unresolved items before an independent, third-party arbitrator."

Full article

“The union representing thousands of Ontario high school teachers and education workers is raising the alarm over what it calls ‘clear risks’ involved with reopening public schools in September in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... [T]he union is calling on the government to provide more personal protective equipment, more cleaning and more funding for the increased staffing it says will be needed to keep everyone as safe as possible from the novel coronavirus. OSSTF's paper presents four guiding principles that ‘must be addressed’ by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and local school boards to ‘ensure a safe return for our members and our students.’”

“The union is offering recommendations targeting the following four main areas of concern:

Health and safety — The union says all requirements contained within the Ontario Health and Safety Act must be met, including sufficient personal protective equipment, cleaning, COVID-19 testing and physical distancing. 

Equity — OSSTF says equity must be at the "centre" of planning for the next school year, and increased efforts should be made to provide support to students and staff who require it. 

Funding — Additional funding will be required, the unions says, related to health and safety costs, replacing equipment, and increased staffing. 

Collective agreements — The union says central collective agreements must continue to be followed.”

CBC News, June 13, 2020: “More funding, health, equity measures needed ahead of September school reopening: OSSTF,” by Julia Knope

Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF/FEESO)

Preventing Teacher Burnout during the Pandemic: National Teacher Survey

“We conducted a survey to learn how best to support teachers with coping during the pandemic. In May, we surveyed 1,330 teachers from across Canada, including every province and one territory. The survey included 92 questions related to burnout, efficacy, techno-stress, attitudes toward change, resources, demands and coping. We hope our early findings can help shape how parents and administrators consider supporting teachers during this pandemic and potentially other waves of it. As we continue our research we will be interested to see how teachers show resiliency during the pandemic. Research shows that teachers under sustained stress lose resiliency in three phases as they burnout, but a balance of job demands and resources can reverse this trend.”

TORONTO, ON — Today, Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education, issued the following statement after reaching a tentative agreement with Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) and the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA), and the OSSTF Education Workers and the Council of Trustees’ Associations (CTA):

“Our priority has always been to reach good deals with teachers’ and…