PSSP Bargaining Unit Newsletter:

Volume 1, Issue 6: April 15, 2003

President’s Message

I would start off by welcoming Audrey Cooley as the job class representative for Psychological Services. Audrey will be replacing Frank Coleman for the remainder of the school year as Frank has taken the position of Acting Coordinator of Psychological Services. Thanks Frank for all your input and help over the last few years!

The PSSP executive as well as a few additional members participated in job class training with Bev Tindall, Secretariat Liaison from Provincial Office, on March 18th. Everyone who attended commented on how valuable and relevant the information was. Thanks to Sandra Miller, our Vice-President, for organizing the evening!

A PSSP Sector General Meeting is held once every two years. The General meeting will be held this year, June 15-16, at the Crown Plaza Toronto Don Valley. Nomination forms and information packages on the General Meeting will be sent to each PSSP Bargaining Unit President by mid-April. Each nomination requires the signature of the nominator and the seconder as well as the signature of the nominee accepting the nomination. Nominations will be due by Friday May 23rd. 2003. If any member is interested in becoming a PSSP Sector Councillor, please let me know as soon as possible and we will make sure that the paper work is completed and in on time.

As most members are aware, District II's Teachers' Bargaining Unit and the Board have agreed to a one year contract extension for 2002- 2003. The extension includes improvements in salary, benefits co- payments, and class size language.

By now all employees of the TVDSB should have completed and returned the consent form that allows the Board to proceed with collecting criminal records checks. As of July 31st, 2003, employees without a check will likely not be able to work. If you did not complete the Consent form, please let District Office know.

Thanks to Wendy Hirschegger at District Office, the District 11 web site is up and running. She will be adding the PSSP newsletters to the PSSP page as they are issued and any other information that we request The site also includes Political Action information as well as extensive links to others sites of interest.

ManuAssist

Some members may not realize that our group benefits plan provides coverage for emergency medical treatment for the member and his/her covered dependents while travelling outside of Ontario. ManuAssist enhances this coverage by providing on-the-spot help in getting members through a medical or other travel emergency.

ManuAssist services include the following:

Medical Emergency Assistance

Non-Medical Assistance

A medical emergency is a sudden or unexpected injury which occurs, or an unforeseen illness which begins, while an insured person is travelling outside their normal province of residence and requires immediate medical attention. Such medical emergency no longer exists when, in the opinion of the attending physician, the insured person is able to return to their province of residence.

In the event of a medical emergency while travelling out of province, it is extremely important that ManuAssist be contacted either prior to or as soon as possible after being admitted to hospital. It should be noted that ManuAssist arranges for the payment of medical expenses. provided they are contacted before the expense is incurred. If required, ManuAssist will forward an advance deposit to the hospital before medical services are rendered. If, however, payments made on your behalf are subsequently determined to be for ineligible services or amounts, then ManuLife has the right to recover the overpayment from the member.

For claims over $200, if ManuAssist is not contacted first, the member is responsible for paying the expense and submitting the claim for reimbursement to the provincial government health insurance plan and Manulife Financial Group Benefits. If medical expenses are less than $200, the member is responsible for paying the expense and submitting the claim for reimbursement to the government health insurance plan and Manulife Financial Group Benefits.

For further details on the Out-of-Province/Out-of-Canada Coverage provided through our group benefits plan, please refer to I your benefits booklet or contact the Benefits Administrator.

OMERS - Phasing out the 80 Factor Window

* Reductions are the lesser of 65 years of age, the factor, or 30 years of service.

OMERS Pension Estimates

Each year between 2003 and 2005, the eligibility rules for receiving an OMERS pension change. For example, in 2003 if you are 50 years of age or older you can retire to a pension. If you retire after 2003, you must be 55 or older to receive a pension. The reduction for early retirement doubles if you retire after 2003.

Deciding the best time to retire is always difficult. But the decision becomes more complicated when the retirement rules change every year. If you are planning to retire in the next four or five years, write OMERS for pension estimates for possible retirement dates. If you have not decided on a specific date, begin retirement planning by getting pension estimates for the earliest and latest dates you would consider retiring and for a date in the middle. Remember: starting in 2004 you must be 55 years of age to retire to a pension. OMERS estimates dated before July 2001 will not be based on the revised retirement rules. You will need updated estimates.

OMERS will not provide pension estimates if you call or e-mail your requests. Fax or mail a signed request to:

Ontario Municipal Employers Retirement System (OMERS)
One University Avenue, Suite 1000
Toronto, ON,
M5J 2P1
(416) 369-2400 (Telephone)
1-800-387-0813 (Toll Free)
(416) 360-0217 (Fax)

If you need help on how to maximize your retirement options or if after you get your estimates you need assistance with retirement planning, call Gerald Armstrong, OSSTF Pensions Officer, at Provincial Office 1-800-267-7867 (Toll Free)

AMPA 2003

March 7-10, I attended the Annual Meeting of the Provincial Assembly (AMPA) held at the Harbourcastle Westin in Toronto along with 21 other delegates from District 11. As this was an election year, there was barely a moments rest the entire weekend. District 11, under the leadership of Don Rowdon, District President, was assisting with Ken Coran's campaign for the position of Provincial Vice-President. District 11 delegates hosted Ken's campaign suite, handed out campaign literature, promoted Ken in discussions with other campaign delegates and participated in "Bear Pit" sessions by asking candidates relevant questions. Ken was elected Sunday morning to the position of Vice-President following a close but successful campaign.

Rhonda Kimberly-Young will be the new Provincial President of OSSTF. Earl Manners, OSSTF's president for the last eight years, will be stepping down effective in June. At AMPA, he gave a very emotional speech. Earl will be running as the NDP candidate seeking the MPP position for Halburton Victoria Brock.

District 11 PSSP forwarded a motion to AMPA through the District 11 Executive. The motion was altered from its original form by the AMPA steering committee although the intent remained basically the same. District 11 was told that the motion would have been ruled out of order or defeated if it had been left in its original form. The new motion, which read: "BE IT RESOLVED THAT any facilities rented by OSSTF for general meetings of a bargaining unit or district, or for inter-district meetings, be wheelchair accessible.", easily passed.

Chief Negotiator's Report
By Carol Ross

Negotiations continue at the racing speed of a tortoise. We met with the Board on April 2, and will meet again on May 2. For those who are new to the process it seems to be endless. For those of us who went through the 2 1/2 years it took to get a first contract, we seem to be moving at a brisk clip.

As soon as we achieve a tentative agreement, you will be notified by phone of the time and place of an information meeting. At the meeting you'll be given highlights of the new agreement in writing, and have a chance to ask questions. A vote by secret ballot will be held a couple of days later.

You will soon be receiving information about our "Early and Safe Return to Work" in the form of a brochure which Karen Erskine is putting together for us. If anyone needs physical accommodation to do their job, contact Karen at 452-2606.

Private School Tax Credit

On March 25, OISE/UT released its 14th annual survey, conducted in late 2002, which showed a majority of the public opposed to tax breaks for private schools under any circumstances. Even more troublesome for the government, overwhelming numbers - more than 80% - are opposed if the private schools do not follow the provincial curriculum or participate in province- wide testing.

OSSTF has been trying, since November, to obtain the results of the OSSL T (Literacy Test) for private schools. The EQAO has been stalling- losing the initial request and then claiming no CEO was available to sign for the release - and has now handed results to the information coordinator for Freedom of Information at the Ministry of Education. The information coordinator said the EQAO was wrong and the request should have been submitted to her immediately, but EQAO misled OSSTF’s lawyers by saying no such request was necessary. It would seem that EQAO is either incompetent or trying to suppress the results from private schools. The OSSLT is the only accountability measure that applies to private schools, which are now receiving public money.

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

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