By now you might have read one of the several familiar-sounding letters to the editor from members of the OSSTF. (Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers' Federation). The teachers are flooding newspapers with letters to the editor. The letters are virtually identical. Sometimes there are sentences that are word-for-word identical.
Some examples: A letter in the Toronto Sun on November 29, 2019 claiming, "teachers have had their wages frozen since 2012." Another letter to the Toronto Sun on December 3, 2019 claiming teachers' pay increases are "less than inflation." Another letter to the Windsor Star on January 3, 2020 claiming "My wages have been below inflation levels since 2012." Are these statement true? Have teacher wages been "below inflation levels since 2012"? Have teacher wages been "frozen since 2012?"
Let's analyze what teachers' wages looks like. The collective agreement between the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers' Federation and the Greater Essex County District School Board is very similar to teacher contracts accross the province of Ontario. I will use it as the standard example.
Below is the "pay grid" for a secondary school teacher (as set out in the collective agreement). The grid shows how much a teacher gets paid based on their qualifications and their years of experience.
Some examples: A letter in the Toronto Sun on November 29, 2019 claiming, "teachers have had their wages frozen since 2012." Another letter to the Toronto Sun on December 3, 2019 claiming teachers' pay increases are "less than inflation." Another letter to the Windsor Star on January 3, 2020 claiming "My wages have been below inflation levels since 2012." Are these statement true? Have teacher wages been "below inflation levels since 2012"? Have teacher wages been "frozen since 2012?"
Let's analyze what teachers' wages looks like. The collective agreement between the Ontario Secondary Schools Teachers' Federation and the Greater Essex County District School Board is very similar to teacher contracts accross the province of Ontario. I will use it as the standard example.
Below is the "pay grid" for a secondary school teacher (as set out in the collective agreement). The grid shows how much a teacher gets paid based on their qualifications and their years of experience.
Level III refers to a teacher with one university degree and also the education degree from a university. That's the most common teacher in Ontario so it makes sense to use Level III as our point of reference.
Based on the grid, a starting teacher will get a salary of $53,690. In the teacher's second year, the teacher will be paid $56,781. That's an automatic increase of 5.7% from year one to year two. Teachers' pay increases automatically every year for 10 years, always in excess of the rate of inflation.
So it is not correct to say that teachers' wages have been "below inflation levels since 2012" or "frozen since 2012." In fact, as a teacher moves up the grid, the pay increases automatically every year for 10 years, in excess of the rate of inflation.
Only the teachers at the maximum end of the grid got wage increases less than the rate of inflation. Those increases were 1.5% in 2017, 1% in 2018, 1% in 2019, and 0.5% effective August 2019. For example, a teacher at the maximum end of the grid was earning $92,608 in 2017, and $94,942 in 2019. Bear in mind, by the time a teacher arrives at the maximum end of the grid, the teacher has already benefitted from pay increases in excess of the rate of inflation every year for the past 10 years.
The government of Ontario is offering an additional 1% per year for the next 3 years. For example, a 1% increase makes the starting teacher salary move up to $54,226 and the top teacher salary move up to $95,891.
Apparently, $95,891 per year is so insulting to the OSSTF that they are holding rotating strikes across the province of Ontario. There was one in Essex County on Wednesday.
And who supports this strike action? None other than your local MPP for Essex, Taras Natyshak. Below is a photo of Taras Natyshak with strikers. To quote Natyshak, "Proud to support and show solidarity with Education workers who are fighting Doug Ford's cuts to our public education system."
I guess $95,891 per year is just not enough for some people.
Based on the grid, a starting teacher will get a salary of $53,690. In the teacher's second year, the teacher will be paid $56,781. That's an automatic increase of 5.7% from year one to year two. Teachers' pay increases automatically every year for 10 years, always in excess of the rate of inflation.
So it is not correct to say that teachers' wages have been "below inflation levels since 2012" or "frozen since 2012." In fact, as a teacher moves up the grid, the pay increases automatically every year for 10 years, in excess of the rate of inflation.
Only the teachers at the maximum end of the grid got wage increases less than the rate of inflation. Those increases were 1.5% in 2017, 1% in 2018, 1% in 2019, and 0.5% effective August 2019. For example, a teacher at the maximum end of the grid was earning $92,608 in 2017, and $94,942 in 2019. Bear in mind, by the time a teacher arrives at the maximum end of the grid, the teacher has already benefitted from pay increases in excess of the rate of inflation every year for the past 10 years.
The government of Ontario is offering an additional 1% per year for the next 3 years. For example, a 1% increase makes the starting teacher salary move up to $54,226 and the top teacher salary move up to $95,891.
Apparently, $95,891 per year is so insulting to the OSSTF that they are holding rotating strikes across the province of Ontario. There was one in Essex County on Wednesday.
And who supports this strike action? None other than your local MPP for Essex, Taras Natyshak. Below is a photo of Taras Natyshak with strikers. To quote Natyshak, "Proud to support and show solidarity with Education workers who are fighting Doug Ford's cuts to our public education system."
I guess $95,891 per year is just not enough for some people.