Teachers facing self-isolation dilemmas, confused by rules: unions

Say their members are forced to make difficult decisions when someone in their family is sick, call it a ‘catch-22’ scenario

Hamilton teacher unions say their members are confused about when to stay home and when to go into work.

In some cases, they face a catch-22 situation when it comes to child care.

The four unions representing elementary and secondary teachers in both the public and Catholic boards say the messaging their members are receiving from the province, school boards and public health about when to go to school and when to stay home is ever-changing. And they’re not happy with the lack of clarity nor the current guidelines.

“The whole idea of quarantining and self-isolation seems to have gone out the window,” said Jeff Sorensen, president of the Hamilton-Wentworth Elementary Teachers’ local.

His issue is primarily with guidelines telling teachers to work, even

if they might have been exposed to COVID through a sick family member.

According to public health’s “decision trees” — charts which teachers and students refer to when determining whether to come to school or stay home — if a teacher has COVID symptoms, they are to stay home. If someone in their family is sick and has not yet tested positive for COVID, the teacher goes into work.

But if your child is sick with COVID symptoms, are you really going to call grandma — or anyone else — to babysit?

One union representative calls this a “catch-22.”

“Let’s say my three-year-old son is displaying COVID symptoms,” said Daryl Jerome, president of the public board’s high school teachers’ union. “We don’t know that he has (COVID) yet because he hasn’t gone for a test ... but he can’t go to daycare, he can’t take care of himself.”

Jerome worries this dilemma will disproportionately affect female teachers.

“We think it’s a family-status issue because it’s going to mainly impact female members because they tend to be the primary caregiver,” said Jerome. “They can’t leave their son or daughter at home alone.”

In response, public health spokesperson Jacqueline Durlov said anyone showing COVID-19 symptoms should selfisolate at home.

“Usually this means that no one from outside the home is going into the home, however each family circumstance would be discussed with public health for clarity around the approach with caregivers for children,” Durlov said.

Hamilton public health’s school policies are based off provincial guidelines, she added.

As for how many teachers are off work — because they are sick, self-isolating or caring for a sick family member — the numbers aren’t available. The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board said it’s “too early” to comment on teacher absence rates for September.

Asked how the board will handle higher-than-normal absence rates if they materialize, the board said: “We are continuing to monitor the situation as the new school year begins.” The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board did not provide teacher absence numbers by deadline.

Some unions said it seems more members are off work due to COVID-related situations, while others said fewer are calling in sick — perhaps because those who are prone to illness or immunocompromised are already working remotely.

Meanwhile, at least one union representative wants to see stronger screening measures in place to ensure sick students aren’t defying public health guidelines and coming to school while sick.

“If a student is under pressure to get their Grade 12, that student is going to be coming in,” said Sergio Cacoilo, president of the Hamilton Secondary Unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association. “A student going on to university ... if they miss two or three days, they’ve got a problem.”

Cacoilo said ideally, he’d like to see schools taking students’ temperature each day.

In response, Durlov said: “We are currently recommending that parents and staff follow the screening protocols that have been laid out.”