Teachers working under the terms of this Agreement must, in order to terminate their employment, serve written notice to the Board according to the terms of the Individual Agreement signed by the Chairperson of the School Board, the Secretary Treasurer and/or their designate(s) and the individual teacher. Similarly, the Board must serve written notice upon the Teacher according to the terms of the same agreement.
a. The Board recognizes that teachers are concerned about job security. Therefore, in the event of a cutback of staff, the Board will give first consideration to retaining the teachers having the greatest length of teaching service with the Board. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board shall have the right to disregard the length of service of any teacher in the event of a layoff, if such teacher does not have the necessary training, qualifications or experience for a specific teaching assignment.
b. When a lay-off appears imminent, the Superintendent will meet with the President of the Thompson Teachers’ Association to discuss the implications of such action and possible alternatives. Following such discussions, the Superintendent will prepare a list of those teachers who in their opinion should be laid off. This list will be presented to the President of the Thompson Teachers’ Association for his/her consideration before any action is taken regarding giving notice to the affected teachers.
c. The Board agrees to provide the Association with a list of employees and their length of service. This list will be revised January 31st and September 30th of each year.
d. Definitions
Training – Instruction received as preparation for the profession of teaching which leads to the development of a particular skill or proficiency.
Qualifications – Refers to the class in which a teacher is placed by the Administration and Professional Certification Branch of Manitoba Education.
Experience – The practical application of training over a period of time.
Length of Teaching Service – The teacher’s length of continuous employment with the Board commencing with the first teaching day after his/her most recent date of hiring.
e. A teacher will retain and accrue seniority if absent from work due to:
i. Educational and vocational leave
ii. Maternity/Parental Leave
iii. Teacher Exchange
iv. Illness or disability up to the maximum days accumulated under the provisions of the collective agreement
v. Illness or disability while on unpaid medical leave and in receipt of benefits from the Manitoba Teachers’ Society Disability Benefits Plan to a maximum of thirty-six (36) months. At the expiry of that thirty-six (36) month period, the teacher shall retain but not accrue seniority
vi. Leave of absence up to thirty (30) calendar days
vii. Sabbatical Leave
f. If, after lay-offs have occurred, positions become available, teachers who have been laid off shall be offered the positions first, provided such teachers have the necessary training, qualifications and experience for the positions. Length of service will be used to determine the order in which laid off teachers are offered the positions provided that the said teachers have the necessary training qualifications and experience for the position.
g. A teacher who has been employed full time or part time by the District under a Limited Term Teacher General contract for two (2) successive school years and who subsequently is employed under a Teacher-General contract since the commencement of his or her duties under Limited Term Teacher – General contract shall be entitled retroactively to seniority and to sick leave days accrued since his or her date of hire under a Limited Term Teacher – General contract.
i. Seniority for the purposes of this article is defined to mean the length of continuous teaching experience from the date of last hire with the District.
ii. Where the teachers have the same length of continuous teaching experience, the order of the seniority list shall be determined on the basis of total length of employment with the District.
iii. Where teachers have the same seniority as defined in (i) and (ii) the order of seniority shall be determined on the basis of total teacher experience recognized by the Professional Certification Unit for classification purposes.
h. If a teacher is recalled, the following shall not be affected:
i. Accumulated sick leave gained prior to being laid off
ii. Seniority gained prior to being laid off
iii. But seniority and sick leave shall not accrue for the period of the lay-off
i. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, a teacher shall lose seniority and the rights to further consideration for employment for any of the following reasons:
i. The teacher resigns
ii. The teacher is employed by another School Board on a regular basis and on a Teacher-General contract
iii. The teacher fails to return to work after the termination of any leave granted by the Board
iv. The teacher is not re-employed within one (1) calendar year after September 30th following the date of lay-off
v. The teacher’s contract is terminated for cause