Teachers’ Unions wait for ratification

The Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association (OECTA) is 1 of 4 teachers’ unions negotiating new collective agreements in Ontario.  The OECTU is steadfast in its position to stand its ground for the sake of education for students in Ontario.  The OECTU issued a news release on March 3, 2020, entitled, Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association News Release OECTA Statement on Bargaining  (URL http://www.catholicteachers.ca/OECTA/media/pdfs/News/2020/mar/NR_2020-010.pdf).  The news release speaks some harsh words towards the Ford government on the demands of the OECTA.

Teachers in Ontario push back on the provincial government to preserve the standard of learning for future generations.  The OECTA is willing to concede on the wage and benefit increases if the provincial government preserves the all day kindergarten, keeps resources in schools, allows e-learning to be optional, discontinues teacher layoffs, provides resources and supports for the vulnerable students, etc. 

Although we do not know the details of the collective agreement, it was reported in the National Post on March 12^th, 2020 there has been an interim agreement made.  The agreement is currently confidential until after the ratification vote on April 7^th and 8^th, 2020.  Ultimately, the membership for the Association will vote for or against the agreement.  We should look forward to an update after the April vote (URL:  https://nationalpost.com/news/newsalertenglish-catholic-teachers-reach-tentative-deal-with-ontario-government).  If the agreement is not ratified by the union membership, the parties may be back at the negotiating table.

Recently, on March 20^th, 2020, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (EFTO) also reached an interim collective agreement with ratification to follow some time in the near future( URL: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-reaches-tentative-contract-deal-elementary-teachers-1.5505373)

Overall, the teachers are invested in the future of the students and their education.  They seemed to have bartered using the wage discussion as leverage to negotiate a better outcome for students.  We will not know the full details of the collective agreements until after the ratification votes.

References:

Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association News Release OECTA Statement on Bargaining (March 3, 2020) The Canada Press URL http://www.catholicteachers.ca/OECTA/media/pdfs/News/2020/mar/NR_2020-010.pdf). 

Ontario English Catholic teachers reach tentative contract deal with province (March 12, 2020) The Canadian Press, The National Post, URL https://nationalpost.com/news/newsalertenglish-catholic-teachers-reach-tentative-deal-with-ontario-government)

Ontario reaches tentative contract deal with province’s largest teachers’ union ETFO (March 20, 2020) The Canadian Press, CBC URL https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-reaches-tentative-contract-deal-elementary-teachers-1.5505373

Precedent Setting Decision for the GIG Economy

The precedent setting decision by the OLRB sets the gig economy in the direction of unionization, trail blazing for other such delivery services such as Skip the Dishes and Uber. (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/foodora-couriers-are-eligible-to-join-union-labour-board-rules-1.5475986).

Top image:  https://www.foodora.ca/

Bottom image:  https://www.cupw.ca/en/foodsters-win-major-victory-workers-gig-economy

On February 25, 2020, the OLRB made the decision that couriers delivering for the popular Foodora are dependent contractors.  After days of evidence presented to the Board, the Board sided with CUPW stating the Foodora couriers are dependent contractors as defined in the Employment Standards Act.  The Board took the position that despite the “gig economy” label, the case shared similar issues to that of older cases involving couriers (OLRB, Feb 25, 2020 para. 172).  The significance of the decision on all gig workers is that more providers in the gig economy will be encouraged to come forward to gain their status as dependent workers.  The dependent contractor allows for the right to unionize.  Unionization for this group of employees will change their employee rights and, strengthen negotiating power for otherwise precarious work.

After analyzing the evidence provided by Foodora couriers, the Board was able to gather information on the operations to determine the relationship between the couriers and Foodora.  The Board determined the relationship mirrors that of employee/employer.  The evidence showed the dispatchers, by way of the Foodora App, were managing the couriers by scheduling and managing shifts and availability.  Foodora couriers testified they feared retribution for working with more than one delivery service (ie. Skip the Dishes, etc.), and were subject to escalated discipline for failing to uphold the rules and regulations set out in their contract as examples (OLRB, Feb 25, 2020 pp 63, 124 – 127).

This precedent setting case will pave the way for more job security for those currently struggling to make ends meet with precarious employment in the gig economy. 

Foodora couriers are eligible to join union, labour board rules, (February 25, 2020), The Canadian Press

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/foodora-couriers-are-eligible-to-join-union-labour-board-rules-1.5475986

Canadian Union of Postal Workers v Foodora Inc. d.b.a. Foodora (2020) OLRB 1346-19-R

Click to access 1346-19-R_Foodora-Inc-Feb-25-2020.pdf

Compensation to parents for childcare expenses – proactive or undermining negotiations?

The Ontario Provincial government undermines the recent negotiations with the teacher’s unions by compensating parents for childcare expenses incurred as a result of the strike days.  The provincial government should retain funds and re-invest them in the school system rather than swaying the public with financial incentives.  CBC News posted an article on January 15, 2020 entitled, “Ontario public elementary school teachers set to begin rotating strikes on Monday” outlining the recent negotiations from both the Minister’s perspective and the four teachers’ unions participating in the talks (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/etfo-public-teachers-strike-1.5427368).

Providing financial incentives for families as a way to be “proactive” as indicated by Minister Lecce in the CBC article noted above, defeats the purpose of striking.  Strikes are meant to place pressure on the parties to negotiate in good faith.  In particular, the strikes provide the unions with leverage and negotiating power in the process.  By reducing the financial burden on families, the provincial government has created a false illusion for parents receiving these funds.  The financial incentive may sway the people from supporting the position the union is taking, and create support for the government, who may be viewed as being understanding, supportive, etc. of the working parents.

Minister Lecce, on more than one occasion, within the article, indicates the province and the unions are stuck on compensation as the main issue that cannot be agreed upon.  Teachers’ disagree stating that not enough has been negotiated to satisfy their needs.  For each union, there are real concerns that long-term impacts on children learning in the education system in Ontario.  For example, “the [Elementary Teachers’ Federation Ontario] has said key issues are more supports for students with special needs, addressing violence in schools and preserving full-day kindergarten” (CBC News).  For secondary schools, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation argues against the average high school class sizes increasing and the implementation of mandatory e-learning courses for students to graduate (CBC News).  Although compensation plays a large role in the negotiations, there are real concerns the unions are advocating for that will play a larger role in children’s day-to-day lives.  If there is a change to full day kindergarten, the provincial government will be shifting the cost of education to parents who will be required to find childcare for their children for half-days and/or alternate days.  The impact of this change helps the government save on costs in education, but moves the cost of childcare onto the parents – or alternative, to subsidy programs. 

The financial incentive program is not a proactive step as the Minister suggests. The incentive provides a short term solution for reimbursement for families, but is solely self serving for the Province to undermine negotiations with the unions.

In the Article by the Journalist’s Resource entitled, “Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour:  What the research says, The JR Guide to the 2020 Democratic Policy Proposal,” the research fails to show the impact on the self-employed and small business owners.  A large minimum wage increase causes a shift in the economy for the smaller businesses who may not survive a mandated increase in costs to their bottom line.

The primary policy being discussed is related to setting a minimum wage and its effect on the employment market.  The author discusses research around the employment rates compared to the change in minimum wage in nearby markets.  The biggest impact for low wage workers seems to be the teenaged worker category.  This is not a surprising statistic, but it poses the question, if an employer was to choose between hiring a teenager with no experience, and a skilled worker, they would most likely choose the skilled worker if they were able to pay the same rate of pay.  Just because the minimum wage increases, does not necessarily mean the employer has the ability to shift the wages of their entire workforce.  The fact is, as the minimum wage increases, so does the cost of operation, and therefore, the cost of whatever service or product will also increase.  This increase would also include the cost of living.  In other words, the wage becomes relative to the costs in the world we live it.

As a small business owner, the increase in the minimum wage could potentially wipe out the business.  In small rural areas where people are struggling to get by paying their employees as it is, those small business would potentially not survive the increase.  The larger business who have the resources and ability to flex, will come out on top.  As an example, the General Manager, Norah Fountain of the Muskoka Lakes Chamber of Commerce in an article in the MuskokaRegion.com about the need to adjust to the new minimum wage.  Please find the link  https://www.muskokaregion.com/opinion-story/8047815-help-needed-for-minimum-wage-impact-says-muskoka-chamber-manager/

Although this is only one member of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, I think it is safe to make the inference there are other jurisdictions within Ontario with the same struggles.

Now, the research in the Journalist’s Resource article noted above, does show that a smaller hike in the minimum wage offers stability while increasing the wage, however, the issue of inflation and passing on the cost to the consumer remains.

Merrefield, Clark (2019, November 14). Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour:  What the research says, The JR Guide to the 2020 Democratic Policy Proposals. Journalist’s Resource https://journalistsresource.org/studies/economics/federal-minimum-wage-research/

Fountain, Norah, (2018, January 11). Help needed for minimum wage impact, says Muskoka chamber manager. MuskokaRegion.com https://www.muskokaregion.com/opinion-story/8047815-help-needed-for-minimum-wage-impact-says-muskoka-chamber-manager/

Hello Classmates!

My name is Tiffany.

My first employment experience started when I was 15 years old. I worked at the local Tim Horton’s in my hometown. At the time, the minimum wage for students was $6.40/hour. I remember thinking, at the time, how much money that was and thought I was on my way to saving tons of money. The non-student minimum wage was $6.85 or somewhere around there. In today’s day, it seems impossible to live any sort of life relying on a wage as low as those. This was my first experience in how laws impact wages. To add even further perspective, I remember when I received my first raise – 10 cents. It felt good to get a raise, but at the end of the day, when I opened my paycheque at the end of two weeks, the pay increase seemed not worth it. I learned very early on in life how important it is to strategize your future with the end goal of maximizing income.

I am interested in learning more about governance and inclusion. We have a diverse community where needs are rapidly changing. It will be interesting to learn more in these areas to apply to my day to day role in my own workplace.

Looking forward to hearing all about your first employment experiences!

Hello there fellow classmates! I am Tiffany and I am thrilled to be a part of this course. I am a part-time student, full-time professional Administrator. A large part of my role as a professional is assessing risk and drafting contracts. My interest in this course comes from entering a new work environment where there are interactions with unions, something of which is very new to me. If were to pick out a few things as goals for this course, they would be to gain a better understanding of employment legislation in Ontario and have a better understanding of unions and how they operate. I look forward to meeting and working with some or all of you in the next few months!

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