HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1989-01-31, Page 5• "
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NOVICE AND JUNIOR similar -pairs ice dance medal winners from the Wingham Figure Skating Club re-
cently were presented with their trophies. They are: back, Shari Mundell and Jenni Kerr, Blaine Moore
Trophy for Novice silver; Patricia Daer, Luella and Jack Kerr Trophy, gold, Junior; front, Lisa Alexander
and Kara Neil, Blaine Moore Trophy, gold, Novice.
St. Catharines man acts
as mediator in dispute talks
David Whitehead of St. Catharines
has been appointed as mediator in
the long-standing dispute between
the Huron County Board of
Education and its 390 elementary
school teachers.
Mr. Whitehead brings an ex-
tensive background in both
education and dispute resolution to
the Huron contra et talks. He
currently teaches organizational
behavior at Brock University in St.
Catharines and was formerly
associated with the faculty of
business administration at the
University of Western Ontario,
According to Jim Breckenridge,
field service officer with the
Education Relations Commission
(ERC) in Toronto, Mr. Whitehead
has been "a fairly busy third -party
mediator" in education disputes in
the past.
The board and its elementary
teachers have been negotiating
since early last March, anticipating
the expiry of their previous
agreement on Aug. 31, 1988.
Two earlier attempts at mediation
were held last May and a fact-
finding hearing was held on Sept.. 22.
The talks broke down, however, as
neither side k the dispute was able
to find a way through the tangle of
such unresolved issues as salary and
benefits, preparation time and
staffing, aniong others.
In an action unprecedented, in
Huron County, more than 300
elementary teacher staged a
demonstration at 'the board offide in
Clinton on Nov. 28 hi ati effort to
draw media and public attention to
their plight and to try to pressure the
board into retuk . .g 'to the
bargaining table.
However, the board refused to
hear the teachers at a public
meeting and -HCBE chairman John
Jewett ru10 the group out of order
for attempting to negotiate in public.
The teachers then 'left without in-
cident.
In a prepared statement released
to the media just prior /to the
demonstration, the teachers
claimed that the board had been
unwilling to meet with their
negotiating team during the period
of confidentiality of the fact-finding
report
The bOard refuted this, however,
claiming that the upcoming
municipal elections — and the
possibility of new school board
members being elected — was the
delaying factor.
Later, the board contacted the
teachers again and on Dec. 16,
representatives of both sides met to
resume negotiations.
The talks broke down once again,
however, although both sides
described the session as amiable.
With the mediator's appointment,
Mr. Breckenridge says the next step
in the Huron County dispute is to try
to set up another meeting between
the two sides.
Legislation governing collective
bargaining between school boards
and teachers has been in place since
1975, when the School Boards and
Teachers Collective Negotiating Act
— which created the ERC was
passed by the Ontario legislature.
The ERC has a number of func-
tions including monitoring all
negotiations, collecting and
providing data to all parties in
collective negotiations, assisting the
parties in their negotiations,
training third -party neutrals.
The commission's functions also
include adjudicating charges of bad -
faith, and advising the lieutenant
governor in council concerning
jeopardy to students' courses of
study in the event of a strike and -or
lockout between boards and
teachers.
Ground rules for bargaining in the
education sector state that
bargaining in each jurisdiction
begins in January of the year in
which the agreement expires, and
all collective agreements in the
sector expire on Aug. 31.
PRESS COUNCIL
The Wingharn Advance -
Times is a member of the
Ontario Press Council
which will consider writ-
ten complaints about the
publication of news, opin-
ions and advertising. If a
complaint cannot be re-
solved with the newspa-
per, it should be sent to
the Ontario Press Coun-
cil. 151 Slater St., Suite
708, Ottawa, Ontario KIP
5H3
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0t:
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Responding to increased pres
sures on our cities, towns gad
townships in areas such as healt
care and provision of water and
sewers, the province will increas
grants to municipalities by 5.4 pe
cent.
This increase — which is higher
than the rate of inflation — will allow
municipalities to respond to
dramatic increases in funding
demands for important services.
In order to target the increased
spending to services that are in most
need, Municipal Affairs Minister
John Eakins has announced that
grants for water and sewer projects
twill increase by 11.3 per cent.
The large increase in support for
sewer and water projects follows
concerns expressed by municipali-
ties about the deterioration of the in-
frastructure, which is go- important
to the efficient functioning of our
municipalities.
In addition, the provincial gov-
ernment has urged the federal gov-
ernment to begin contributing to the
cost of upgrading infrastructure in
municipalities. Since the federal
government has refused to meet its
share of the cost so far, the province
has kicked in extra to help muni-
cipalities.
Mr. Eakins als6's announced in-
creases of 13.9 per cent for muni-
cipal financing of day nurseries and
an 8.3 per cent increase to meet
municipal contribution toward con-
servation authorities.
Grants without any strings at-
tached (known as unconditional
grants) will remain at the same
level as last year, in order that
funding may go to these other areas
of high priority.
•
•,work-inleOcturce ma* M
„program pfoiride,„
h partiCipaots an .opportu
minister,- protect aft'
e PUNIC lands, inter*
r resources. The 301110
receives free hoard and lodging in
staffed camps .across the Oro**,
as well as a basic wage of $15 per.
day. To qualify, you must be •
receiving secondary scboal
education and be 17 years of age by
Dec. 31, 1989, but not 18 on July 31,
1 9 (born between Aug. 1, 1971 anti.,
Dec. 31, 1972).
Interested teenagers are en-
couraged to apply as soon as
possible, as each student is selected
on a first-come, first -serve basis.
The deadline for applications is
March 31.
Additional information is avail-
able by calling the ministry's- youth
programs office at (416) 965-1258.
Forms and brochures are available
at any of my three riding offices.
New System
I have recently announced a cen-
trally -controlled marketing system
for fresh wholesale asparagus
grown in Ontario will be established.
The Ontario Farm Products Mar-
keting Commission recommended
this action following an expression
of opinion poll held in December 19
in which 71 per cent of asparagus
growers casting a ballot were in
favor of the • centrally -controlled
marketing system.
Fresh asparagus growers have
made their position known on the
need to establish a unified market-
ing° system for their product in On-
tario. I am pleased the new mar-
keting system will be in place for the
1989 crop year,
The Ontario Asparagus Growers'
Marketing Board, which will ad-
minister the new system, is under
the supervision of the Ontario Farm
Products Marketing Commission.
The system will be established
under the Farm Products Marketing
Act.
There are approximately 300 fresh
asparagus growers in Ontario.
Junior Ranger
Each year, young people from
across the province express an in-
terest in the Junior Ranger Program
under the Ontario Ministry of Na-
tural Resources. Last year, a total of
14 from Huron County spent a suc-
cessful summer as Junior Rangers.
For' those interested in outdoor
Separate school board
looks at pay equity issue
The Huron -Perth Roman Catholic
Separate School Board has decided
now is the time to find and correct
any inequities which may exist in
employee salaries.
At its regular January meeting,
the „board decided to hire the
consulting firm Stevenson, Kellogg,
Ernst and Whinney to develop a pay
equity program for HPRCSSB
employees.
Bill Eckert, HPRCSSB director of
education, said appointment of the
consultants is to meet with provin-
cial govermnent requirements
which dictate that school boards
must have a program ready by June
1989 to be implemented by January,
1990.
Simply stated, pay equity is
considered to be equal pay for work
of equal or comparable value.
Mr. Eckert explained that the
hired consultants will study 13
employee groups within the Huron -
Perth system, and the job
descriptions of every employee
classification evaluated and
compared.
The consultants will meet with
every employee in each of the 13
groups and this dialogue is expected
to result in clearly defined job
functions for all.
As part of the study, the
employees will be asked to rate their
particular job function against
others on the scale.
Onere, the study is completed and
releaed, it will be presented to the
board for its approval.
Mr. Eckert does not anticipate any
major inequities to surface as a
result of the study.
While admitting that inequities do
exist at present, he said they are not
so great as they cannot be cleared
up.
This is the first move by the board
to correct any inequities which do
exist.
Previously, the HPRCSSB had
been "studying the matter" of pay
equity to become familiar with
legislation on the issue, Mr. Eckert
said.
Should any amendments in
employee salaries be necessary, the
government requires that they begin
next Jan. 1.
In the Huron -Perth board, Mr.
Eckert named two groups which
have no male employees —
secretaries and teacher aides.
The HPRCSSB's directors are all
male, he added.
The study is estimated to take 15 to
18 weeks to complete at a cost of
$18,000 to $19,000.
Annual meeting
is this Friday
The annual meeting of the
Belgrave-Auburn Co-op will be held
this Friday in the auditorium of the
Blyth Community Centre.
The banquet and annual meeting
starts at 7 p.m.
Guest speaker for the event is
Huron -Bruce MP Murray Cardiff.
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