Check-In, Tuesday, November 12th, 2019

Good Morning County, Happy Tuesday.

Apologies for not sending a Check-In last week, but I wanted to ensure we had some information on the HRCE’s new Attendance Support Program for teachers. If you have not read them already, please click here to read our FAQ about the program.

As a “Cole’s notes” version of the NSTU perspective on this , the program is, in HRCE’s own words,  not meant to be “…invasive, confrontational or disrespectful.” The program does not circumvent the collective agreement, in particular, your entitlement to sick time or the use of documentation.

  1. You still get 20 sick days per year and a sick bank which you can access.
  2. You can still take these days for medical appointments that cannot be made outside of school hours.
  3. You can only be required to provide medical documentation after five days or if there is a pattern.
  4. That “medical documentation” is a very specific form that is in the collective agreement. It is not a “Doctor’s note”, but an extensive questionnaire which is filled out by the health provider and submitted to the HRCE. 
  5. The cost for that is billed to the employer. You do not pay! 

Participation in the Attendance Support Program is voluntary, and will depend very much on your own individual circumstances. If you feel the program can be of assistance in helping you navigate a personal health issue then you should feel free to access it. If you feel that you do not require assistance, then you should respectfully decline. 

I would encourage you to have a close read of the FAQ, and if you have any specific questions, let me know.

Now, onto other business.

With the election of Duncan Cameron to the Provincial Executive, we once again find ourselves with a seat open on our local executive. The Chair of the Professional Development committee is responsible for overseeing such things as approving our Halifax County Local PD grant, the CDAF grant, and sitting on the regional Article 60 committee. Advance Nominations will open on Thursday, November 14th, and will close on December 5th. If you wish to find out more or if you wish to put your name forward, please contact Jason Jennings at hfxconominations@nstu.ca.

On a final note, just a quick shout out to all the amazing reps who gave up their long weekend to attend our annual rep training conference this past weekend. As an organization, we recognize that often teachers have a very difficult time striking a work/ life balance, and cannot express our gratitude strongly enough. As well, a special thank-you to the Equity and Reps Committee, and all the effort they put into making the event a success.

That’s it for today, County. Have a great week.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *