National Health and Safety Week: Prevention
Oct 15 to 21 2017 is National Health and Safety Week (http://semainesst.org/). The focus this year is on prevention. In the context of health and safety, prevention is a daily challenge in a more and more competitive world, where productivity has become an obsession. In our college life, small steps you may consider:
- Be kind to yourself.
- Be kind and respectful to each other, as we are all under a lot of stress.
50 Years of CEGEPs: Photo project
Jérôme Fortin, Quebec artist and visual art teacher at Cegep of Vieux Montréal has accepted, in collaboration with Fneeq, to create a work that would commemorate the 50 years of Cegeps in Quebec. It will be composed of photos from the past from teachers throughout the province and it will be unveiled in the Spring 2018.
- Please submit us photos you may have that capture the Vanier spirit from any time in our history so that we can send our selections to the Fneeq project.
Seniority List
The October 2017 seniority list came out last Friday, Oct. 13. It is every teacher’s responsibility to verify his or her seniority in the 30 days from that time, after which it becomes official.
- Please check, in order to allow us to correct any error before it is too late.
New Teachers
If you haven’t already done so, please drop by our office, C101, in order to become VCTA members. You only need to pay a one-time fee of $2, and then you will be able to vote during General Assemblies and elections!
Medical Insurance Renewal 2018 (attachments: renewal 2018; renouvelement 2018)
- Rates as of January 1, 2018
Good news! There will be no increase in premiums on January 1, 2018. - Changes as of January 2018
- $1,000 reimbursement per hearing aid, maximum $2,000 per 36-month period;
- Reimbursement of medical certificates at the rate provided by the plan member’s Module: $40 per certificate, maximum $500 per year;
- Homeopathic treatments are no longer covered
- You can opt for more coverage by asking Human Resources during the month of November.
You can opt for less coverage if you have been contributing to the higher coverage for 3 years - Bill 92 – New itemised drug bills
The invoice must now show the following items separately:- Cost of the compound (the drug) -This is the same for all pharmacists
- Wholesaler’s profit margin -This is the same for all pharmacists
- Pharmacists’ professional fees -The pharmacist’s professional fees include the price for filling the prescription, the pharmacist’s profit margin and any other fees charged by the pharmacist. These may vary considerably between pharmacists – so shop around..
Asbestos Update
Those of you present at the last VCTA General Assembly will remember that the VCTA Executive indicated we would contact the CNESST to ask them to come to the college and inspect the renovation site. The CNESST told us that they would not come to inspect the site unless someone identified a specific concern or problem. The inspector, however, did say that we could take pictures of the site and send them, which we did. If teachers notice an accumulation of dust in their offices, or if they have reason to believe that the negative pressure machinery is not working, they should inform the College and the Union. Any complaints should be directed to Loïc Boyer is the College’s current Health and Safety Officer and ”cc” the VCTA.
Lise Bégin, Vanier’s Director of Administrative Services, has agreed to make the asbestos register available to all employees for consultation in H-201. The register should contain information related to the location of materials and products which have been the object of asbestos verification, information regarding the presence and type of asbestos, and the nature and date of work done on materials and products containing asbestos. Having this information may prove useful as renovation continues throughout the college.
Finally, we sent an access to information request to the DG to ask for copies of the daily air-quality test results and documents produced by WSP in relation to the renovation. The DG agreed to this request. We sent pictures of the test results that were available at the construction site to our air-quality specialist at the CSN and await her analysis.
It is unfortunate that teachers may only get complete information regarding the renovation in A-500 after the fact, a concern which we raised with the College. Nonetheless, we think it is critical to get as much information as we can so as to demonstrate to the College that we will persist in having teachers informed.
The VCTA Web-site
Check out our web-site for FAQ, the latest news on education, council meetings and more: www.thevcta.qc.ca