Daily Services Required for Children Kept Home From School - Unacceptable Work Overload that Needs to be Stopped, Recognized and Compensated

QUÉBEC, Nov. 27, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - The Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement (FSE-CSQ) and the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (APEQ-QPAT) met in federal council and strongly denounced Minister Roberge's new measure–which is being applied without any form of consultation and announced to teachers through the media–to add more educational tasks to teacher workloads. Indeed, in addition to teaching full time, providing catch-up and supervision, and increasing their planning to adhere to pandemic-related plans and health measures, teachers will also be required to provide services to all students kept home from school for more than two days and to follow up on them on a daily basis. In primary school, there are often 7 or 8 of these students, and in high school there can be more than 20 per teacher.

"We understand why this follow-up is needed for children to continue learning, but teachers shouldn't have to be the only ones bearing the brunt of the failed rapid COVID testing and the bungled bubble system. We must address these crucial educational needs collectively. So we have to find other solutions to support all these students. This just won't be feasible for many teachers; they won't have enough time or they'll burn out trying to do it all. So the answer is no. We're going to protect our people so they can keep working," said Josée Scalabrini, President of the FSE-CSQ.

The FSE-CSQ and QPAT are therefore requesting:

• That management be responsible for following up with students kept home from school. They will have to find effective solutions, for example by hiring additional resources to carry out these tasks, so as not to add any pressure on classroom teachers or specialists, whose workload has already been full to the brim since the start of class;
• If a solution has not been found and full-time teachers are called upon to follow up with these children, they must immediately and automatically be offered financial compensation to do so.

"Teacher workloads are already full to the brim this year. It's time to stop this worrying tendency to keep adding to the teachers' workload. Schedules are already full, we need to hire more resources or compensate teachers who will do it for the significant work increase. Teachers have reached their breaking point with their workload, and with their tolerance to abuse," said Heidi Yetman, QPAT President.

FSE-CSQ and QPAT believe that the employer is using the pandemic as an excuse to meddle in teachers' affairs and try to increase their workload or limit their professional autonomy. If teachers do their part during the pandemic, in no way should they find themselves obligated, afterwards, to work in conditions that were meant to be temporary.

Additionally, they denounce once again the government's disrespectful approach of announcing measures to the media before speaking to the people who are directly affected by them. Valuing a profession also means being part of the solution. For them, there's been enough contempt!

Profile

The Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement (FSE) represents 34 unions representing more than 65,000 teachers in school service centres and school boards across Quebec. Its membership includes teachers from all sectors, including pre-school, primary, secondary, vocational and general adult education. It is affiliated with the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) and negotiates in collaboration with the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (APEQ-QPAT), which represents the 8,000 teachers in Quebec's English school boards. Together, they represent 73,000 teachers.

SOURCE Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement (CSQ)

Sylvie Lemieux, Press Officer, FSE-CSQ, 418-563-7193, [email protected]; Julie Montpetit, Communications Advisor, APEQ-QPAT, 514-249-9653, [email protected]