Sick Teachers Benefit from MoU

Chronically Ill Teachers Have More Financial Security Than Before

TORONTO, Dec. 21, 2012 /CNW/ - Under the new Short-term Leave and Disability Plan (STLDP), teachers will have more financial security then ever if they are facing illness and need to be off work.

Negotiated into the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) signed with the government, the STLDP allows for teachers to receive income replacement for 130 days annually.

Under previous provisions, teachers could bank unused sick days, which they could draw on later if they incurred a serious illness. Typically, the longer a teacher worked, the larger the sick leave bank. However, once the banked sick days were used, teachers were left without a guarantee of income for whatever remaining time off they needed. Additionally, teachers with chronic or recurring illness who needed to use their sick days or newer teachers who had not built a sick bank were left at a distinct disadvantage. The new provisions of the STLDP provide a guarantee of 130 days of income replacement for every teacher, every year.

"One of our main objectives was to ensure that our members were not financially disadvantaged by the government's move to eliminate the sick bank," says Kevin O'Dwyer, OECTA president. "The new STLDP measures not only provide financial security, they improve access for many of our most vulnerable members - those with chronic or recurring illness."

"This provision is a definite improvement for our members - especially those who are in their first few years and those who may be or may become chronically ill," adds O'Dwyer. "Under the previous plan teachers were all treated differently. The new plan is more fair and treats all teachers equitably."

To learn more about the STLDP and the MoU, visit www.oecta.on.ca

OECTA represents the 43,000 professional women and men who teach all grades in publicly funded English Catholic schools in Ontario.

SOURCE: Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association

For more information contact: Michelle Despault, Director of Communications
416-925-2493 ext 509, [email protected]