School lockout ‘dividing’ Niagara: Gates

ALLAN BENNER

POSTMEDIA NETWORK

As the provincial government is being asked to intervene in the lockout of Niagara’s Catholic elementary teachers, the union representing those teachers is continuing to pressure the school board to accept its offer of voluntary arbitration.

Meanwhile, Niagara Catholic District School Board is advising the parents of the board’s 14,700 elementary school students that any missed classes due to the lockout will not be added to the end of the school year, and student absences during that time will not be added to report cards.

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates discussed the labour dispute during member’s statements in the provincial legislature Wednesday, urging Education Minister Mitzie Hunter to visit Niagara and speak to board representatives, parents and teachers represented by Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, Niagara Elementary Unit.

“I ask the minister, please come to Niagara immediately for the sake of the families across Niagara.”

Gates said the message is clear in his riding that the lockout “isn’t good for our children, it’s not good for families and, frankly, it’s dividing our community.” “We need to put children first.” Gates said teachers “just want to teach.”

“They love their student. They miss their students,” he said. “They want to be in the classroom doing what they do best: teaching our future generations. We need to get them back in the classroom.”

He said he also can’t understand why the board’s negotiators rejected an offer from the union for voluntary binding arbitration which would have ended the lockout and work-to-rule sanctions.

OCETA has again shared concerns of the teachers it represents through advertisements published Thursday in daily papers across Niagara.

The advertisements say Option A — voluntary arbitration — would mean normal classes would resume tomorrow, while Option B — legislated arbitration — would take three weeks.

“Why is the Niagara Catholic District School Board insisting on Option B?” it asks, and urges people to call school board trustees to ask them to “end this lockout now.”

A notice to parents posted on the board’s website, niagaracatholic.ca, said the board carefully reviewed the offer for voluntary arbitration and asked why the union didn’t make that offer in September. If it had done so, the statement said, they could have avoided “an increasingly harsh workto-rule that punished 14,700 students for six months.”

The notice said the only unresolved issue is a proposal by the board that would no longer allow OECTA to make presentations directly to trustees as part of grievance procedures.

The board said its proposal would not stop OECTA or teachers from filing grievances, prevent any grievance that was denied from being sent to arbitration, and would not affect any Niagara residents and prospective students can experience what Niagara College has to offer first-hand during an open house at its campuses in Welland and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Saturday’s annual spring open house will feature a variety of displays, information sessions and tours of facilities, including residences from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “This is a great opportunity to meet students, faculty and staff, in an informal atmosphere,” said college president Dan Patterson.“There is a wide variety of special events to appeal to all interests.” Tours and tastings are available at the Niagara-on-the-Lake campus of both the winery and brewery, and culinary selections from Benchmark restaurant chefs are available including complementary desserts, commemorating the college’s 50th anniversary this year. Information sessions include: Student Services Fair; financial aid; program sessions; and for the first time, the college will feature Meet the President Hour in Welland at 10:30 a.m. in the Learning Commons, and in Niagara-onthe-Lake, at 12:30 p.m. at the cafeteria entrance, with Patterson as host of the hour. Parking is free during the event. Advance registration is not required. Visitors will get a 20 per cent discount at campus stores. For additional information, visit www.niagaracollege. ca/open house. other of the terms and conditions of employment for teachers.

“There is no reasonable need for this clause to be in the collective agreement,”thenoticesaid.“Noother collective agreement with teachers in Catholic school boards in the province of Ontario has this provision.”

Although the board said “the appropriate place to resolve this difference is through local bargaining,” and it’s committed to doing that, no dates have been set for the resumption of negotiations.

Meanwhile, parents continue to be asked to report their child’s absence using an automated system that now also includes “Labour Disruption (Elementary Only)” among the reasons students are not in class.

Asked why that requirement remains in place during the lockout, the board responded via email Thursday, saying “all schools are open to receive students, and students are attending school.”

“As part of the board’s Safe Arrival Program, we need to know of students who are at home with parental approval, so we can follow up with students who are absent for their safety, as we do every school day,” the email said.

Asked twice for the number of students attending classes since the lockout began, the board did not provide the information, instead replying: “Student attendance varies from school to school and day to day.”

The board said its elementary teachers are being paid on their normal payday, “minus their daily paid rate for Monday to Wednesday of the lockout.”

Niagara College hosting Saturday open house