The Ontario Teachers’ Federation has rejected a proposal by the government and school boards to temporarily increase the number of days that retired teachers can work as fill-in educators in classrooms.
Earlier this month, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce and the associations that represent the province’s school trustees sent a letter to the OTF requesting that it temporarily change its rules. They asked the federation to allow retired teachers to work 95 days a year in schools with no effect on their pensions, instead of the normal 50. The federation has allowed this at various times over the past three years, but not during the current school year.
On Monday, the OTF, which advocates on behalf of the profession and represents public school teachers in the operation of their pension plan, issued a statement saying it would not agree to reinstate the 95-day policy.
“The pension plan is designed to provide an income to retired teachers; it is not a tool for addressing labour market challenges. Ultimately, the teacher recruitment and retention challenge is a systemic problem that requires systemic solutions,” OTF president Yves Durocher said in the statement.
School boards across the country have said they are struggling to find substitute educators to help fill the voids left in classrooms when permanent teachers are absent. In many instances, school officials have re-deployed non-classroom teaching staff and uncertified instructors to fill teaching positions temporarily.
“Retired educators have years of experience that can benefit students – who are eager to be supported and back in classrooms – and can assist school boards to temporarily address some of the recruitment challenges they are experiencing,” Mr. Lecce wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Globe and Mail.
Retired teachers who work for periods of time longer than the 50-day limit could have their pensions suspended, according to the pension plan’s website.
The OTF said in its statement that in the past it had “reluctantly” agreed to increase the limit to 95 days temporarily, as a way of helping address pandemic-related disruptions to education.
“Deflecting responsibility onto retired teachers is neither a sufficient nor a sustainable option to address staffing challenges,” the federation said.
It added that a better and more sustainable way of addressing teacher shortages would be to wait for recommendations from a committee led by the provincial government that is studying teacher recruitment and retention.
Isha Chaudhuri, a spokesperson for Mr. Lecce, said it was disappointing to see the OTF “oppose a common-sense measure that was supported by front-line principals and has worked to ensure a continuous supply of qualified teachers remain in the classroom.”
”The Ontario Teachers’ Federation will need to explain why it’s not a shared priority for them to put in place both short and long-term measures that will keep kids learning in class in front of a qualified teacher,” she added.
Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, said she had hoped that the request for support from the OTF would help bring more qualified teachers into schools. The federation’s refusal, she said, “just means that we have vacancies to fill.”
Caroline Alphonso