Deja Vu, All Over Again

Once again, Ontario schools are facing labour unrest. And once again, students are caught in the middle. Due to Provincial Government cutbacks, the funding to individual school boards, such as our own Peel Board, has been reduced. In order to accomplish more with less money, school boards are laying off teachers (over two hundred secondary school teachers, according to the Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation). Many teachers (over a dozen at The Woodlands alone), dismayed at what is happening in Ontario schools, are retiring under a new plan which lets teachers retire earlier. Obviously, someone must teach the students of the teachers who have been laid off. This will have to be done by the teachers who remain in the system. In other words, teachers in the Peel Board, and at The Woodlands, will have to teach more classes. The problem is that the Board doesn’t want to pay the teachers more money for teaching more classes.

The Woodlands School works on a two-day cycle. To date, most teachers teach six periods per cycle (there are ten periods in a cycle, minus two lunch periods). Added on to the six teaching periods are an on-call or preparatory period. However, the new staffing plans drawn up by the Board for next year call for 2/3 of the teachers to teach seven out of eight periods, and the rest to teach six out of eight, plus an administration period (those getting the administration periods would be department heads, for example, who need more time to order books, organize field trips, and help out with curriculum). The short of it is that the Board wants teachers to work more without paying them more, in violation of the contract they signed with the teachers.

On June 1, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (one of the leading unions during the Bill 160 political protest) sent out a letter to all High-School teachers in the Peel Board. It stated that in the staffing plans for next year, “teacher workload has increased twelve per cent and there has been no corresponding increase in compensation”. It goes on to note that “Program[s] will suffer and working conditions will deteriorate. Again, [the union] calls on you to defend your profession and yourselves”. Also, the letter informs teachers that “No member should participate in any activity relating to time tabling”. In other words, teachers are being told to refuse to help plan next year’s timetable. Further on, the Federation asks that “no member sign up for extracurricular activities for the next school year until such time as working conditions are determined”. Extracurricular activities across the province could be cancelled this fall if the labour dispute is not resolved over the summer.

What does this have to do with The Woodlands? HTP went to Mr. Pirk to find out. According to the principal, the school begins to prepare its timetable soon after students’ option selections are collected in January. By May, a rough draft of the timetable is ready, and students with conflicts (two classes in the same period, etc.) are called down to make changes. By June, the final timetable is pretty much ready. This year, however, scheduling is delayed so badly that by the time the school closes in June, the timetable’s conflicts may not be worked out. This means that in September, massive revisions may need to be made, followed by confusing class changes and rescheduling. “It could be a very disruptive situation”, Mr. Pirk noted.

Clearly, the conflict between the school boards and the OSSTF could easily deteriorate into a work-to-rule campaign, or even a strike. It is Mr. Pirk’s hope that the situation can be resolved through discussions and re-negotiations. However, it is clear that the Ontario Government cutbacks, however necessary they may be, are having a broad impact on Ontario education. It’s obvious that no-one in their right mind would gladly work more for the same pay, and that picking on teachers who are fresh out of the Bill 160 fight is certain death. The school boards should realize that “passing the buck” fails to solve education’s problems.

Meanwhile, the conflict continues. Teachers across the province are wondering what to do next, as their union leaders clash with school Boards. Those left standing after layoffs are now poised to take action once again, while extracurricular activities are at risk, and schools reach the point of a veritable scheduling meltdown. See you in September.