Information for New Contract Teachers

Congratulations on your new teaching position and welcome to OSSTF District 26.  This web page is designed to answer some frequently asked questions and provide links to appropriate web pages.  New teachers are encouraged to explore this entire website, as it contains valuable information, resources, and links.  Should you have any questions, contact the OSSTF District Office.

As a new member of District 26, please take a few moments to complete the following on-line questionnaire. Thanks.

If you are a new Long-term Occasional Teacher, please <click here>

What is OSSTF District 26?

OSSTF District 26 is your union.  One of it's main function is to ensure all rights, under the Collective Agreement and Acts/Regulations bounding Education in Ontario, is maintained.

 

District 26 is composed of three bargaining units:  Teachers, Occasional Teachers, and PSSP.  Each Bargaining Unit has it's own Executive.  For more details on the structure of District 26, <click here>

 

Each Bargaining Unit has a Collective Agreement.  This agreement is binding between the Employer and it's employees.  This agreement details your salary, working conditions, benefits, leaves of absence, etc.  You should be receiving a hard copy of this agreement.  In the meantime, you are strongly encouraged to read the on-line version of the Collective Agreement.

 

District 26 has three release officers dedicating themselves, full-time, to offer services to the membership.  <Click here> to view who these officers are and how to contact them.

 

Each school has an elected OSSTF Branch Steward.  Acquaint yourself with your Steward - they can answer many of your questions.

How is Salary Grid rate selected & How am I Paid?

There are 26 bi-weekly pays from Sept 1 to Aug 31, deposited on Fridays.

Pays are composed of :

• your salary grid rate, plus

• extra degree allowances (if applicable), plus

• PAR allowances (if applicable)

The process of placing a new teacher at the correct location is called initial grid placement.  Your initial grid placement is based on two factors:

• Group Rating Statement from the OSSTF certification department, and

• Related teaching, professional, and/or trade experience

All new teachers are placed at Group 1, Year 0 experience on the grid until such a time they provide the necessary Group Rating Statement and/or Related Experience documents.   Once provided, salary will be retroactively calculated to the date of hire.

 

If you are in possession of a Master's Degree or PhD, send a copy to the Board - you may be eligible for an extra-degree allowance.

 

<Click here> to view important details regarding Related Experience, Group Rating statements and Initial Grid Placement. 

 

Do I receive Benefits?

Each teacher shall participate in mandatory plans and have the right to participate in optional benefit plans currently provided by Sun Life and OTIP:

• basic group life (mandatory);

• optional group life (optional);

• extended health, including vision care (mandatory for full-time teachers, optional for part-time teachers);

• dental care (mandatory for full-time teachers, optional for part-time teachers);

• OTIP long-term disability (mandatory);

• Employee Assistance Plan (mandatory).

Family coverage shall include the teacher, his/her spouse, dependent children under the age of 21 years or under the age of 25 years while in full-time attendance at a post-secondary institution.  

 

If you are part-time teacher (half-time or more) and elect to participate in Extended Health and/or Dental Care benefits, you will be required to pay a percent of the premiums, on a monthly basis.  For example, a teacher who is a two-thirds teacher (0.67 FTE) will be required to pay 0.33 of the premiums.  The Board will contact you to determine if you wish to participate, and explain the premiums that must be paid.

 

<Click here> to view the entire benefits package

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What is my Workload?

The Collective Agreement dictates the working conditions of all teachers.  It is imperative that all teachers ensure that their workload does not violate the Collective Agreement.  The files below are in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.

 

<Click here> to link to the page that explains workload, tallying APA, and class caps