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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-04-26, Page 14What they agreed to in teachers' strike settlement BY JEFF SEDDON Huron County's 274 high school teachers ended a' 31 day strike April 12, voting 205 to 47 to ratify their '1977-78 and 1978-79 contracts. The acceptance of the pacts permitted schools in the county to reopen for the first time since February 22. The settlement by the teachers was the final step in ending the strike. The board of education voted 12-1 in a special meeting April 11 in favour of the contract which was hashed out in a 33 hour marathon bargaining session that, ended at 5.45 a.m, April 10. The settlement was a saw off the two pa>ties agreed to, neither side winning their case but neither losing. The offer wade to the teachers in the marathon session settled the disputed work- load clause in the 1977-78 contract and sent wages and a sick leave gratuity clause in the 1978-79 contract to an arbitration hearing. The workload clause was the - centre of the seven week dispute involving the number of students a teacher is required to teach in a subject area, the average class size and the number of periods a teacher is required to teach a day. The clause was in the 1976-77 teacher contract as a guideline . the board of education aimed to` meet. The teachers ' wanted it re -written to make it firmer and the board felt that if it agreed to those terms its rights to manage would be seriously eroded. The board argued that if it wad bound by the terms of the workload clause the pupil -teacher ratio also in the contract would be meaningless and the board may be required to hire more teachers. It felt that it ' must reserve the right to determine how many teachers were needed in the education system and could only do that through the PTR clause. Both parties managed to agree on the workload clause by placing a stipulation in it that meant that the board would attempt to meet the guidelines of the clause as long as they didn't conflict with the ' PTR. That means that the board will make every effort to meet the guidelines the teachers requested but will not be forced into hiring teachers to do so. The teachers agreed to the PTR Huronview News Members of the congregation of the Clinton Christian Reformed Church formed a choir for the Sunday evening service led by Dick Roorda. Molly Cox, Norman Speir and Cecil Skinner provided the Old- Tyme music for Monday's pro- gram. The Goderich Township Women's Institute Volunteers assisted with the activities. Doug McNall and Dave Sher- man from the Kirkton area entertained with a musical pro- gram on Family Night. The entertainers provided their own guitar accompaniment and sang several familiar songs and re- quests,including the Blyth Cen- tennial song. Miss ,Pearl Gidley expressed the appreciation of the residents. The Belgrave Women's Insti- tute were hosts for the April Birthday Party on Wednesday afternoon. Mrs. Mary Wightman was Emcee for the party Mrs. Cornish, who cele- brated her eighty-eighth birthday on April 18th, thanked all those who had helped with the party. clause being the deciding factor in the workload clause and got added protection for their case through a workload committee. The committee was set up through board policy in March and consists of one senior education administrator, one board trustee, one representative of the teachers and one principal. ' The committee will monitor the board's efforts to meet the guidelines in the workload clause and will also work to determine how many' teachers the board needs and where they should. be placed. That will be sent to the director of education for his approval and will be put to the board of education as a recom- mendation. The teachers feel that through the workload committee the terms of the workload clause will be' given added insurance. Wages in the 1978-79 pact are still unsettled but both parties agreed that it would be unreason- able to permit a dispute in that contract to affect the education .now. Both agreed to settle the 1977-78 contract and continue negotiations r the coming year. If a settle nt cannot be reached in the next 60 days wages for next year will be set by an arbitration hearing. Monetary items in the 1977-78 pact were not a stumbling block and were agreed on months. ago. The teachers accepted a 7.5 percent increase including incre- ments which brought the average salary for a teacher to $23,200. The sick leave gratuity will be unaltered in the 1977-78 -contract and will also be settled through arbitration if negotiations prove fruitless. The clause provides teachers with financiai security in case of sickness and can mean up to half a year's salary after the teacher completes seven years of _. service. The money is paid in a cash settlement when the teacher retires if he has not had need for the sick leave. The dispute over that clause arose when, the board altered the clause to stipulate that a teacher. not , be eligible for the gratuity until he has'completed 12 years of service or reached 50 years of age. rt/taf/m/m/m•m•am>tltmr•o••Am••/SIX••••i•/sy•.••••....XICd WEDDING RECEPTION for Mr. & Mrs. BEN VANDIEPENBEEK (nee Mary Anne Redmond) at SALTFORD SAT., MAY 6th Dancing 9-1:00 Music by: SHANNON Everyone Welcome k }t WINGHAM 357-1630 NOW PLAYING Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, April 26, 1978 --Page 13 • APPLiCATiNS ft.••••..••m••••.• WILL BE RECEIVED BY Lucknow Recreation Committee FOR SWIMMING INSTRUCTORS AND LIFE GUARDS AT LUCKNOW SWIMMING POOL FOR THE 'COMING SEASON Applicants are required to apply in writing, stating qualifications, by April 30th to WM. R.' HUNTER Lucknow Recreation Committee Box 32, Lucknow, Ont. BOX OFFICE OPENS 7:30 SHOWTIME 8:00 "Uproarious...lusty entertainment: —Bob Thomas, ASSOCIATED PRESS • • 4 BIG ROCKIN' DAYS ONLY! . • • • • • • • Wednesday to Saturday Apel 26 to 29 PLEASE' NOTE SHOWTIMES - WED.-THURS. AT 8:00 P.M.ONLY.*FRI.-SAT. AT 7 & 9 PM 4Lihn nn tatien wimumer A UNIVERSAL PICTURE • TECHNICOLOR® cz- Some scenes and language may. be O. s offensive. Theatres Br. Ont. E 1959. New York City. The battleground was Rock and Roll. - - You shoulda been there. _ • • • • • 'ROCK N ROLL 8*4t* • • /. 44 AHi iN .�.:a .. wl " $Ribs Rocs It ROLL' s' P•wnron•nd•d ADULT WTLLTAINMINT SUNDAY -MONDAY -TUESDAY APRIL 30 -MAY 1-2 THERE'S FUN FOR ALL -YOUNG OR OLD - IN THESE 2 SWELL MOIRES A REAL SPACED -,- OUT DOUBLE FEATURE! 'ENE ORIdltlit INTER (PLANETARY ADVENTURE STARTS WEDNESDAY, MAY 3RD ACADEMY AWARD WINNER — BEST ACTOR RICHARD DREYFUSS k MARSHA MASON a a I Some scenes 8, language may be offensive. Theatres Br. 0 GODERICH 8 riot MF V�IIE t t INTON II(OTMad.d .. *oucl INNkMU1autt