OPSEU Local 330 - Simcoe County District School Board Support Staff

May 4, 2008 : Important Information for all Educational Assistants

With the increase of school day trips, I tend to receive many questions around overtime. If you are participating and working any overtime hours, remember, you are automatically entitled to overtime pay for every hour over and above your regular hours of work.

Visit our web site at www.opseu330.com to print off the overtime form that you will submit with your principals’ signature. No pre approval is necessary; if you are requested to attend the trip, you will be paid. The grievance settlement is on our web site under the grievance drop down bar, as a gentle courtesy you might want to mention it to your Principal if he/she is not aware of the language change.

The unions’ position is that you receive monetary overtime pay. Educational Assistants are spread thin within the classroom, we have challenges with coverage already supporting our students, when you take your lieu time it puts an additional burden on your co workers.

I have also been receiving inquiries around overnight trips. Again, we are encouraging you to NOT participate in these trips. The SMCDSB has provisions in their Collective Agreement which provides them with a straight 7 hours pay, over and above their regular hours of work if they attend overnight trips. Why are our students not supported in the same fashion? They deserve to have the same opportunities to experience these trips with the specialized support of an Educational Assistant working with them to make their experience successful.

We work hard when it comes to grievances and we require you to follow your Collective Agreement. These successes are what make us valuable and stronger when we bargain with our employer. We will once more bring this “7 hour” provision to the bargaining table, but again, the employer will not budge if members are participating in overnight trips without cost.

We also have some concerns with respect to coverage under WSIB if you are injured. It could be a challenge to receive compensation depending on what you were doing at the time of your injury. If it is clear and the employer is paying you to work, then we will not have any dispute with WSIB.

Please encourage a united front at your worksite with respect to this issue, standing together will help us at the table, and in the long run provide the same rights for all students with special needs in Simcoe County.

In solidarity,

Silvanna Petersen
President
Local 330

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