Good morning, County! Happy Monday.
It’s rather hard to believe, but only 3 more Check-Ins until the Holiday. The year has rather flown by, for sure.
Last Monday evening, the HRRC met to discuss a variety of issues common across all three locals. Topics of note included the Tripartite agreement, Tier-two support, and the Guarding Minds at Work Survey results. There was a great deal of discussion (as you can well imagine) around how to best communicate to the HRCE the struggles that teachers are having with the “Tier-two” model as it exists, concerns around the tripartite agreement, and how to best now utilize the data received through the Guarding Minds at Work Survey.
There was also a great deal of discussion about a communication which was received by the HRRC and the Provincial Executive from the Provincial President expressing some concerns about the Guarding Minds at Work Survey. We have addressed these concerns, and the HRRC is now prepared to move forward with presenting the information from the survey to the employer.
On Wednesday, we met with the HRCE for our regularly scheduled Management/ Teacher meeting. The NSTU alerted the HRCE that we are now at least somewhat satisfied with their policy framework for extended power outages, as it addresses most of the major issues we had around the safety of our members. The plan does include a contingency for having water brought in to flush toilets, as well as ensuring access to back up lighting sources such as flashlights.
Two outstanding issues, however, are the use of members cell phones for emergency lighting, and communicating with class room teachers in the event of a lock-down situation during a power outage. Please note that it is the position of the NSTU that school based contingency plans should not include reliance on teacher’s personal cell phones. Members should be aware of your school’s contingency plan for extended power outages, and should know the communication plan in the unlikely event that a school should experience a lock-down situation during a power interruption. If that plan raises concerns, members should alert their JOHS committee.
Finally, there was also some discussion with the HRCE about the impending roll-out of the new attendance support program for NSTU members. When the program was first presented to the Local Presidents, we brought forward some fairly pointed concerns with the idea. The HRCE has indicated they have made adjustments to the planned implementation of the program since that time. The HRCE has agreed to work with the NSTU to ensure that the plan functions as a supportive device for members, and has agreed to further consultation before rolling out the program for teachers.
That’s it for today, County. Have a great week, and, as always, reach out with any questions/ concerns.