Continuing Education Instructors' Bargaining Unit Newsletter:

Volume 3, Issue 2: November 29, 2004

President's Message

Already we are heading into the Christmas season! As well you know it’s been a very busy fall, and some of you are looking forward to the Christmas holiday respite in order to regroup! I can be included in that group.

In this newsletter, I will give you some updates on pay equity and negotiations, both of which are ongoing.

I firstly want to thank all of you for your support this fall. It has been a difficult one, with the surprises from pay equity, and I have had the great feeling of support from this group. For that, I am always grateful.

The District office of OSSTF has been very kind in providing me with a cell phone. My cell number is 519-872-9431.If you call while I am in class, it will go to voice mail. Please leave me a message, and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can.

I also want to wish you a wonderful holiday season. Take time to enjoy family and friends. Take time to do something that makes YOU happy. Take time to do something nice for someone else. Merry Christmas to you all!

WHMIS

A reminder that your WHMIS training needs to be completed. According to a memo put out, ESL instructors can cover each other off during class time to complete it. For those of you who have to do it on your own time, you can attempt to claim it on your time sheet. This would be only for those without NIT. I have no idea how this will be received! However, if you claim it, and the claim is denied, please let me know. I need to be informed of these things in order to bargain with the Board.

Benefit Forms

I realize how frustrating it is for you, the membership, to all of a sudden be informed that your benefits package, to be 100% Board paid, aren’t , apparently, going to be 100% Board paid. The OSSTF executive was as surprised as you were, as was the Pay Equity committee.

Be assured, that we have received advice from Provincial and District OSSTF offices, and are still in talks with the Board. The matter may take some time to resolve.
In the interim, please complete and return your automatic bank withdrawal forms to the Board. Your life insurance, which is mandatory, needs to be taken care of, and no other payment would be withdrawn until March. Hopefully by then, the issue will be resolved.

I promise to keep you posted via memos!!

2005 College of Teachers Fee

ConEd Instructors who are members of the College of Teachers must pay the 2005 fee of $104 directly. The easiest way to do so is online.

Instructors who have not paid the fee by the end of January will be invoiced by the OCT and the fee must be paid by April 15. Members who have not paid the fee by then will be "suspended for non-payment of fees" and it will cost the $104 plus an $80 reinstatement fee (and possibly the re-submission of documentation) to return to "good standing". In addition, the school board is informed and instructors suspended by the OCT also run the risk of being dropped down to the non-OCT pay category (in other words, will be allowed to work but be paid at the lower hourly rate for that time period) until they are once again “in good standing” with the OCT.

Bishop Townsend Awards

A reminder that the Bishop Townsend award nominations are due at the District office no later than December 13. If you know an instructor that you think is especially deserving of this award, please contact me for a nomination form. There is also a link to the award on the District 11 OSSTF website where you can download and print nomination forms.

Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) Claims

What is WSIB?

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is an employer-funded system of compensation benefits available to workers who are injured on the job or become ill because of the job.

Under the system employees do not have the right to sue employers but can be compensated by the WSIB if they sustain "a personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of employment."

What to do if you have sustained a work-related injury or illness:

1. Immediately report the injury/illness to the supervisor or principal, in writing where possible, indicating date, time, nature of accident, body parts affected and witnesses.
2. Seek medical attention right away. If your family doctor is not available, go to the emergency department. You must inform the physician that it is a work-related injury/illness. The doctor will fill in a Form 8 (Physician's First Report) and forward it to the WSIB.
3. You should request that your employer complete a Form 7 (Employer's Report of Disease) and that you receive a copy.
4. You may be requested to complete a Form 6 (Worker's Report of Injury or Disease) or a Worker's Progress Report. Complete these forms in detail and return them to the WSIB immediately.
5. Contact your Bargaining Unit immediately so that they may assist you. Provide them with copies of any documentation that has been forwarded to the WSIB.

OMERS

I was advised at the last Provincial Council meeting in Toronto, that there will be some changes to OMERS. These changes are positive ones, and should make it easier for those of you who contribute to OMERS.

The following improvements are planned, but not yet in effect:
•Over-the-phone pension estimates for members
•Pension info mailed directly to all members
•A future edition of the OMERS pension newsletter will have an article devoted to members employed less than 12 months
•Revision of the annual statement to make it more readable
•Annual statement will have a tear-off form that members can use to request salary & service records
•Revision of the OMERS website to make it more user-friendly.

Christmas

I decided this year that I would include a Christmas recipe for all of you. This recipe is an old one of my Mother’s, and still a family favourite.

Banana Cherry Smack

11/2 c. flour
½ tsp salt
1/3 lb. Butter
1 tbsp icing sugar
•Mix those 4 ingredients and pat in 8x8 pan. Cook 20 minutes at 300°F.
•In double boiler, melt 24 marshmallows. Add 12-15 chopped cherries and small mashed banana. Spread on top of first mixture.
•Ice with butter icing with almond flavoring.
•Refrigerate overnight.

Enjoy. Merry Christmas to all!

Winter Safety

It's that time of year again. The winter season has arrived and with it all kinds of wintery hazards. The way to prevent an injury is to be proactive. Look for areas that have not been salted and sanded especially sidewalks and parking lots. Inform your on-site health and safety representative of any conditions that are not safe.

In the past some schools have experienced electrical power failure due to extreme weather conditions. This caused many heating systems to shut down in the schools. There is a policy in place if a school gets too cold. Contact the on-site health and safety representative and let them ., know how low the temperature has gone. They will advise you what to do.

At our health and safety meetings we have been discussing emergency procedures. There are many employees who do not know what the various codes are for an emergency. Also, there are some schools that do not practice the emergency procedures.

There are some questions you need to ask yourself. Who is my on-site health and safety representative? Who is trained in emergency first aid in my location? Where is the first aid kit? Is It adequately stocked? Is it easily accessible? And where can I find out this information if I need to know? Each site should have a GIANT red binder labeled 'Health and Safety'. It should be kept in the staff room where you can .access it. If you have any concerns about your site, there is a section in the binder where you can jot these down. The member from the main health and safety committee will inspect this binder on an annual basis. If you have immediate concerns, contact me on First Class or at Lorne Ave. 452-8772.

By Monica Zacharias
CEI Health and Safety Officer

Let us not take thought for our separate interests, but let us help one another.
(OSSTF Motto)

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