Professional Development year-end: June 1st
Please know that the deadline for a request to use PD funds for the summer or to rollover PD funds for use next year in order to attend a conference is coming up: June 1st!
- In order to make the request, fill out a PD Application Form, indicating the request clearly, with the academic year, and leave it with Sheree. For rollovers, you do not have to declare a specific conference at this point.
Psychological health in the workplace
Marc-André René, Commerce and Business Administration teacher and representative on Vanier College’s Joint Health and Safety committee, participated in a training organized by FNEEQ on psychological health and workplace organization. Twenty representatives of Cégep and Universities participated in the training held at the CSN head office on May 9-10.
25% of Canadians view their work as a major source of stress and anxiety. In the education community, half of the days lost is related to psychological health problems. Since year 2000, a decision from the Employment Injury Board confirms that psychological health is an integral part of occupational health and safety.
- The training helped participants identify signs of psychological problems and their consequences on the organization.
- It fostered the management of psychological health problems at work through prevention and search for solutions that tackle the source of these, including work design.
- To be effective, the intervention strategies should aim at organizational rather than individual approaches to solve psychological health problems.
Distance Learning
At the Conseil fédéral of the FNEEQ held in Quebec City from May 1 to May 3, 2019, distance learning and partnerships were on the agenda and proposals were adopted for a framework covering all levels from primary to university, partly in response to the government’s Digital Action Plan for Education and Higher Education 2018-2023. Noteworthy is that as part of the proposals it was moved that the FNEEQ commit itself to conducting a public campaign that values face-to-face teaching, highlighting in particular its role in the maintenance of the social, cultural and political fabric. The detailed proposals will be provided on the VCTA website.
Bill 21: religious signs
The CSN presented its position on Bill 21 on May 15th, in the context of parliamentary commission hearings. Jacques Létourneau, president of the CSN, stated that the bill, which would forbid certain categories of workers from wearing religious symbols, should not be adopted in its present form. Earlier this spring, FNEEQ adopted a position similar to that of the CSN. A couple of weeks before the government tabled Bill 21, representatives from FNEEQ were invited by the minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette to discuss our position. Although the minister met with delegations individually, the presence of members of other teachers’ unions would suggest that the minister wanted to have an idea of how this legislation is perceived in the education sector.
You may listen below to the president of CSN, who spoke at the hearing for Bill 21 last Wednesday. He indicates the three main principles that led to CSN protesting the Bill, which would forbid the wearing of religious signs: that it goes against the spirit of openness of Quebec society, discriminates against workers right to work, and discriminates against women:
| Projet de loi 21 – La CSN contre le projet de loi sur la laïcité de la CAQ (2019)
SÉANCE DE COMMISSION : Audition – Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), Jacques Létourneau, 15 mai 2019 Consultations particulières et auditions publiques sur le projet de loi n° 21, Loi sur la laïcité de l’État Source : http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/video-audi… Valérie Plante, Multiculturalisme, Simon Jolin-Barrette, Charte … |
Changes to Teachers’ Pensions with RREGOP
We have already highlighted some important changes regarding pensions that are about to come into effect. But please note again, after July 1st 2019, teachers will avoid paying penalties only if they retire after reaching 61 years of age. The cut off is currently at 60.
- So if you are considering retiring this year and will be 60 years of age, do so by June 30th to avoid the penalties (see p. 10 of the guide).
On the other hand, if you wish to retire before the age of 60, you can get your RREGOP retirement pension with no actuarial reduction if you have 35 years of service or; with an actuarial reduction of 4% for each year of advance retirement (as long as you are over 55). This reduction is permanent and applies for as long as you receive the pension.
- And be forewarned, as of July 1st, 2020, with less than 61 years of age, the actuarial reduction becomes 6% per year.
See below the FNEEQ guides to retirement:
- French : https://fneeq.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/fr/Guide-retraite-FR.pdf
- English: https://fneeq.qc.ca/en/guide-regime-retraite-243/
Summer vacation dates
We are almost there! The last day of teacher availability is Tuesday, June 11, 2019. The vacation period runs from Wednesday, June 12 to August 13, 2019.
Have a good summer all!