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Bargaining and Work-to-Rule Update - OSSTF and ETFO 105
Bargaining and Work-to-Rule Update - OSSTF and ETFO

January 27, 2020 - ETFO

ETFO has announced that, beginning on February 3, 2020 they will begin phase five of work-to-rule strike sanctions​.

The fifth phase of the work-to-rule strike sanctions add to the previous sanctions announced. 

If there is no agreement by Friday, January 31, elementary schools will be closed to students on Thursday, February 6 and Friday, February 7

Families are strongly encouraged to begin making alternate arrangements for your children prior to the strike. Please do not send any students to elementary school on Thursday, February 6 and Friday, February 7

School will resume on Monday, February 10 and students are expected to attend school as usual at that time.

This does not affect secondary schools, which will be operating as scheduled. 

In addition, effective February 3, 2020, ETFO members will:

  • NOT participate in extracurricular activities at any time.

We know this is disappointing for students and families, however student safety continues to be our priority.


January 27, 2020 - OSSTF

As of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation work-to-rule strike sanction, secondary teachers are inputting student report card marks electronically, but are not writing comments. As such, the first semester final report card will continue to be provided for secondary students with marks and no comments. Grade 12 students’ marks will be submitted to the Ontario College Application Service (OCAS) and to the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre (OUAC) on time so that students’ post-secondary applications will not be affected. 

While only marks are available on first semester final report cards, teachers’ assessment and evaluation of student work has continued to occur. Teachers will continue to communicate with students regarding feedback on their work. If you have any questions regarding your child’s marks or learning progress, please contact the appropriate teacher. 

I can appreciate that this news is disappointing for you and I thank you for your understanding. Please be assured that we continue to focus on making decisions in the best interest of student safety and learning.​


January 22, 2020

We know that teacher assessment and evaluation of student learning and achievement are important components of the teaching and learning process. As part of its work-to-rule job sanctions, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has directed teachers not to create comments for report cards and not to complete the electronic entry of grades. Teacher’s electronic submission of grades and the verification of those grades and comments are required to complete the report card process. As such, at this time, we will be unable to provide students and families with Term One report cards.
 
This decision was made after careful consideration, including a thorough review of the processes, resources and time required to produce accurate Term One report cards. Teachers will be submitting handwritten marks to school administrators, however, the task of providing verified and accurate marks is not feasible.  
 
While report cards are not being distributed, teachers’ assessment and evaluation of student progress will continue throughout the year. Teachers will continue to communicate with families about their children’s education. If you have any concerns about your child’s learning or well-being, please contact your child’s teacher. 
 
For students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs), these will continue to be updated as per previous practice. If you have any questions regarding your child’s IEP, please contact the school. 
 
I can appreciate that this news is disappointing for you and I thank you for your understanding. Please be assured this decision was not made lightly and we continue to focus on making decisions in the best interest of student safety and learning.


​​January 17, 2020

A full one day strike by ETFO will occur on Monday, January 20. 

YRDSB elementary schools are closed to students on January 20. Elementary schools will reopen for students on January 21. 

Secondary schools remain open.

For more information, please see the Frequently Asked Questions page.


January 15, 2020

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has provided notice that, if no contract agreement is reached, ETFO members will conduct a one-day full strike – withdrawal of all services – affecting YRDSB elementary schools on Monday, January 20, 2020

If there is no agreement by Friday, January 17, elementary schools will be closed to students on Monday, January 20. Parents are strongly encouraged to begin making alternate arrangements for your children prior to the strike. Please do not send any students to elementary school on Monday, January 20

Daycares operating at schools are anticipated to operate normally; please confirm with your daycare provider. The Ontario Government has announced financial support to families for child care during school closures due to a strike. More details about eligibility and how to submit an application can be found at www.ontario.ca/SupportforParents​ or by calling the Helpline at 1-888-444-3770. 

School will resume on Tuesday, January 21, and students are expected to attend.

This does not affect secondary schools and secondary schools are operating as scheduled on January 20. 

If circumstances change, we will continue to update you and will provide as much information as possible. Please visit the Board website: www.yrdsb.ca or Twitter account @yrdsb for immediate updates. 

We recognize this situation is disappointing; your child’s safety continues to be our first priority.

 

January 10, 2020 - ETFO Work-to-Rule Phase 3

Dear families,

I am writing to provide an update from my previous letters regarding job action by members of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO). ETFO has announced that, beginning on January 13, 2020, they will begin phase three of work-to-rule strike sanctions.

The third phase of the work-to-rule strike sanctions add to the sanctions announced in phase two in December. While previous sanctions were mostly administrative in nature, during the third phase, students and families will begin to notice some activities being withdrawn. 

Of note, the phase 3 work-to-rule strike sanctions will mean that elementary school teachers across public schools in Ontario will:

  • Not participate in extra-curricular activities, except for those scheduled within the school day. 

  • Not participate in field trips. 

  • Not arrive at school any earlier than 30 minutes before the start of the day, and not stay later than 15 minutes after the end of the day. 

  • Not participate in assemblies, except to provide student supervision. 

ETFO also announced phase four strike sanctions, effective January 20. In phase four, ETFO has announced that teachers will participate in rotating one-day strikes if a deal is not reached. We do not yet have details on the timing of the rotating strike which will impact schools at the York Region District School Board and will provide information as early as possible. The full list of sanctions by ETFO is available on the Board’s website. 

We know this is disappointing for students and families.  Your child’s school will provide additional information regarding extra-curricular activities, events and field trips that may have to be cancelled as a result of this work-to-rule strike action. 

Student safety continues to be our priority and we continue to make contingency plans and work to minimize the impact of labour sanctions on students. 

We will continue to keep families updated. You can find updates and information about labour issues on the Board website: www.yrdsb.ca. You may also follow our Twitter account for more immediate updates: @yrdsb.  


Sincerely,

Louise Sirisko

Director of Education


January 9, 2020​ - Grade 9 EQAO Cancellation

Dear families of Grades 9 students,

I am writing to provide an update regarding the job sanctions currently underway by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF). The present job action will affect the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) assessments for first-semester applied and academic Grade 9 Mathematics, originally scheduled to take place between January 13-24, 2020.

OSSTF has advised that its members will not be participating in administering the EQAO test.  As such, the Minister of Education has announced that Boards may postpone the EQAO Math test until June. Without teacher participation, we will not be able to conduct the annual Grade 9 EQAO Math assessment in January and therefore will postpone the test. Teachers will continue to conduct regular in-class assessments to evaluate student progress. 

I can assure you that classroom instruction continues and that this does not disrupt normal school operations.  For immediate updates and information, please visit the Board’s website, www.yrdsb.ca or follow our Twitter feed, @YRDSB.

Note: More information regarding EQAO assessments for other grades will be available closer to their implementation dates in March - June, 2020. 

As always, we continue to have all students' safety, well-being and achievement foremost in mind.

Sincerely,

Louise Sirisko
​Director of Education 

Secondary S​chools Closed on D​ecember 18 due to OSSTF One Day Strike

A full one day strike by OSSTF will occur on Wednesday, December 18. This is a reminder that secondary schools will be closed to students on December 18. Normal school operations will resume on December 19. All transportation services and after school activities are cancelled for December 18 in secondary schools. This does not affect elementary schools, where regular school operations will continue, including transportation. 

For up to date information, please visit www.yrdsb.ca and the Board’s Twitter feed @yrdsb. We know this situation is difficult.  Please be assured we are making decisions in the interest of student safety.​

 

December​ 13, 2019

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) has provided notice that, if no contract agreement is reached,  OSSTF members will conduct a one-day full strike – withdrawal of all services – affecting YRDSB secondary schools on Wednesday,​ December 18, 2019
 

If there is no agreement and the strike occurs, secondary schools will be closed to students on Wednesday, December 18. Parents are strongly encouraged to begin making alternate arrangements for your children prior to the strike. Please do not send any children to secondary school on December 18.

Daycares operating at secondary schools are anticipated to operate normally, please confirm with your daycare provider. At this time, school is expected to resume on Thursday, December 19, 2019, and students are expected to attend. This does not affect elementary schools and all operations at elementary schools are operating as scheduled on December 18.

If circumstances change, we will continue to update you and will provide as much information as possible. Please visit the Board website: www.yrdsb.ca or Twitter account @yrdsb for immediate updates. 


November 2​9, 2019

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) has provided notice that, if no contract agreement is reached,  OSSTF members will conduct a one-day full strike – withdrawal of all services – across the province on Wednesday, December 4, 2019. 
 
If there is no agreement and the strike occurs, schools will be closed to students on Wednesday, December 4. Parents are strongly encouraged to begin making alternate arrangements for your children prior to the strike. Please do not send any children to secondary school on December 4.
 
Daycares operating at secondary schools are anticipated to operate normally, please confirm with your daycare provider. At this time, school is expected to resume on Thursday, December 5, 2019, and students are expected to attend. This does not affect elementary schools and all operations at elementary schools are operating as scheduled on December 4. 
We have been informed that bargaining will continue through the weekend. If circumstances change, we will continue to update you and will provide as much information as possible. Please visit the Board website: www.yrdsb.ca or Twitter account @yrdsb for immediate updates. 
 
We recognize this situation is disappointing; your child’s safety continues to be our first priority.

 

No​​​v​ember 25, 2019

We are providing families an update on job action by members of:

  • the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), which represents all teachers in our elementary schools. 

  • the Ontario Secondary Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), which represents all teachers in our secondary schools and non-classroom based support staff members such as social workers, psychologists and speech-language pathologists. 

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of ​​Ontario

ETFO has provided notice that they will begin phase one of work-to-rule strike sanctions on November 26.

This first phase of work-to-rule strike sanctions is largely administrative in nature and, at this time, is not expected to significantly affect student learning. For example, during this phase one of work-to-rule strike sanctions, teachers will not participate in EQAO related activities,  will only submit a marks summary to principals and not input marks for the term one report card, and will not participate in planning activities for the School Improvement Plan. ETFO has stated teachers will continue to focus on and support the learning of students, maintain contact with parents regarding students and continue to provide scheduled supervision duties. 

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Fed​eration

OSSTF has provided notice that they will begin a limited withdrawal of administrative services and conducting information pickets on November 26.

This first phase of the withdrawal of services is largely administrative in nature and, at this time, is not expected to significantly affect student learning. For example, during this phase one of work-to-rule strike sanctions, teachers will not participate in EQAO preparation or testing, nor provide comments for secondary provincial report cards. During this phase, OSSTF members will also begin conducting information pickets. OSSTF has indicated that these information pickets will not affect school operations. While these are not occurring directly on school property, at some locations you may see teachers distributing information. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation in ensuring the safety of commuters and pedestrians during this time. 

As we have previously communicated, student safety is our priority and we will undertake all possible measures to minimize the impact of labour sanctions on students and their families. Please be assured that we will make all decisions with students’ best interests and safety in mind.  It is important to note that the job actions are a result of the bargaining process at the provincial level, and Board employees are required to follow the direction of their provincial federations. We respect the bargaining process and employees’ rights to bargain collectively. 

We will continue to keep families updated. You can find updates and information about labour issues on the Board website. You may also follow our @YRDSB Twitter account for more immediate updates


Nov​ember 14, 2​​019

Dear families,
 
Today, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) released its Phase 1 Strike Protocol Work-To-Rule. This strike protocol/work-to-rule is effective November 26, and includes items that are mostly administrative in nature. This work-to-rule and strike action is in place across the entire province for all public elementary school teachers and is a result of bargaining at the provincial level. Locally, we continue to bargain with all our employee groups, including the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario - York Region (ETFO-YR). 
 ​
As always, we will work to minimize these effects on schools and classrooms and ensure that students are safe. We recognize that this may prove to be disappointing for parents. As the Board receives additional information, we will endeavour to keep you informed.
 
If you have any concerns about your child’s education, please do not hesitate to contact their teacher. ​​​​​​​​
​​​

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