The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is going from criticizing the provincial government revoking a hiring regulation, to fighting it at the Ontario Labour Relations Board.
ETFO has now filed a complaint with the OLRB over plans to scrap Regulation 274, brought in place in 2012, which said supply teachers with the most seniority must be considered first for new long-term and full-time jobs.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced the move earlier this month, arguing it will lead to teachers being hired based on merit and will be better for equity and diversity.
Union President Sam Hammond said the challenge is based on two points, the first being that local teacher reps are still negotiating agreements with school boards.
“Nothing should change in previous agreements, central agreements, until those negotiations are complete,” he said, adding they’d be willing to discuss the regulation once the deals were complete.
But he said the government has yet to bring any evidence that teachers aren’t being hired appropriately now and a 2014 study commissioned by the ministry found, “no instances that the Regulation’s application resulted in a teacher being employed in a position for which he/she was not qualified.”
“What do you mean by merit, what needs in their opinion need to be changed?” he said. “We have always been more than willing to sit down with the government and look at fact-based research and evidence.”
One of the purposes of 274 was to eliminate the nepotism that occurred as a result of principals having all the hiring power before it was introduced Hammond said, which has been achieved.
In response, Lecce said he was deeply disappointed.
“ETFO has decided that their time is best spent fighting against merit-based, skills-driven hiring that will allow students to see themselves reflected in the educator at the front of their classroom,” he said. “ETFO is sending a clear message to marginalized communities, and parents and students who want the best teacher at the front of the classroom: protecting a union-driven hiring policy is more important than your child’s success in the education system.”
To that point, Hammond said Lecce should be ashamed for his words.
“He’s just insulted every single teacher that has been hired since 2012 under Regulation 274, somehow suggesting that they’re inadequate,” he said.
Lecce also referenced the need to get more educators in front of the classroom because of the pandemic.
Late last month, the Toronto District School Board was struggling to fill 200 open positions as its demand for virtual learning grew.
“Now more than ever - as thousands of teachers are needed and being hired around the province - opposition to getting teachers in front of students is unacceptable,” he said.