The Citizen, 2003-05-07, Page 7THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2003. PAGE 7.
AMD SB ratifies deal with elementary teachers
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
A two-month work-to-ru)e
campaign ended mid-month as
about 500 members of the local
chapter of the Ontario Secondary
School Teachers’ Federation
(OSSTF) approved a one-year
amendment to an existing collective
agreement.
Then early last week, the Avon
Maitland District School Board
secured the services of its other
major employee group — about 700
elementary teachers — through the
ratification of another one-year deal.
Both deals were approved by
trustees at a regular Avon Maitland
meeting Tuesday, April 22, then
ratified in separate votes in the
ensuing days. Both deals run until
this coming September.
WWW.IVESINSURANCE.COM
Sitting pretty
Challenge: Finding the time to be active
for sixty minutes per day
Solution: Spread physical activity throughout your daily routine to work up to 60
minutes. As you progress to more intense exercise you can cut back to 30 minutes
4 times per week. Get started by:
• Walking for 10 minutes several times a day - walk instead of taking the car to
the store, or mailbox, slip out for a walk at lunchtime, or join a friend for a morning
or evening walk.
• Walking briskly, jogging, cycling, swimming, skipping or dancing for 20
minutes or more.
• Substituting an activity break for a coffee break - bend, stretch, and flex to
keep your muscles relaxed and joints mobile for 10 minutes at a time You can do
this at-home, at work or out in the great outdoors.
• Trying 10 minutes of muscle strengthening or weight resistance activities such
as situps, push-ups or weights while you watch TV or before going to bed
• Taking a break and play actively with your kids for 10 minutes or more
• Finding more ways to keep active by checking out the “healthy body quiz" at
www.dietitians.ca/eatwell
According to the OSSTF terms,
high school teachers will receive
what amounts to a net 3.12 per cent
pay increase, with a portion coming
retroactive to the conclusion of the
previous agreement on Sept. 1,
2002. A significantly larger
proportion, however, will be
weighted to come beginning May 1,
2003, thereby enabling the board to
absorb a larger portion of the cost in
the next fiscal year.
The pay raise cause “is very
similar to what we’re seeing in other
negotiations across the province,”
explained education superintendent
Geoff Williams, in an interview
Monday.
Williams added that the agreement
tackles at least some of what OSSTF
representatives had said were
locally-focussed concerns, such as a
shortage of resource staff. As
examples, the superintendent
pointed to an increase in guidance
counsellors and the resolution of a
class size concern.
In a joint news release announcing
the deal, OSSTF District 8 president
Bill Huzar expressed satisfaction
both in terms of salary and staffing,
saying the deal “clears the way for
the removal of the job sanctions in
place since late February and renews
our commitment to a quality
education for our secondary
students.”
Under the work-to-rule, high
school teachers had been absent
from board-sanctioned meetings,
had been withholding comments
from report cards, and had only been
available for student consultation
between 15 minutes prior to the start
of classes and fifteen minutes after
the conclusion of classes.
Local members of the Elementary
Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
(ETFO), meanwhile, voted 97 per
cent in favour of their one-year
amendment. There had been no
labour disruption among elementary
teachers.
“The amended agreement
provides for a 2.5 per cent increase
in salaries retroactive to Sept. 1,
2002, a one per cent increase
retroactive to Feb. 1, 2003 and a
further 0.5 per cent increase Aug.
31, 2003,” stated a joint news
Doug Gough,
R.I.B. (ONT.)
CAIB, Manager
release about-the ETFO agreement.
As with the OSSTF deal, those
changes ultimately will result in a
net 3.12 per cent pay increase.
At the Huron-Perth Catholic
District School Board, meanwhile,
trustees approved a tentative one-
year deal on Monday, April 28, with
the Occasional Teachers’ bargaining
unit of the Ontario English Catholic
Teachers’ Association (OECTA).
OECTA members have yet to vote
on the agreement, which would take
effect Sept. 1, 2003.
IVES INSURANCE BROKERS LTD.
- BLYTH OFFICE
184 Dinsley St. W. Box 428
Blyth, ON NOM IHO
Tel: (519) 523-9655
Fax: (519) 523-9793
All Classes of Insurance
Blyth Public School students donated a bench to the Blyth arena for the Heart and Soul
Campaign. Students raised money and donated the bench as a gift of appreciation for use
of the facilities over the years. From left: school president Stacy McLellan; Kirby Cook;
chairman of Heart and Soul Campaign Todd MacDonald; Hunter Dale; Chantal Warwick;
Aleisha Dale; Kayla Dale; North Huron Councillor, Jeff Howson; Erin Moore.(Sarah Mann photo)
Give a book for Mother's Day
A GIFT OF WINGS
You’ve never seen Canada
like this. Paraplegic
photographer Carl Hiebert
photographed Canada from
coast to coast from an
ultralight aircraft, providing a
perspective you're unlikely to
see anywhere else. $49.95
to
THE NEW BREAD
MACHINE BOOK
From basic breads
whole-grain breads and
fruit and vegetable
breads, this book has
recipes and tips for it
all. $19.99
WILD FOOD
GOURMET
TALES OF THE
UNUSUAL
Diane Madden shares 25
stories of unsolved
crimes, strange
experiences and folklore
from Bruce and Grey
Counties, everything from
shipwrecks to haunted
radio stations. $9.99
•
taste * Qxa
1
THE WILD FOOD
GOURMET
Exciting new t
experiences are all around
you in nature. Recipes for
everything from Lamb’s
Quarters Quiche to wild
berries. $24.95
Drop in to our offices in Blyth and Brussels and look
through our wide selection of books