a) When it is determined by the Division that a lay-off is necessary and where natural attrition, transfers, and leaves of absence do not affect the necessary reduction in staff, the Division shall give first consideration to retaining teachers having the greatest length of continuous service with the Division.
b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Division shall have the right to disregard the length of service of any teacher in the event of a lay-off, if such teacher does not have the necessary training, academic qualifications or experience for a specific teaching assignment after taking into account special subject, program and administrative needs of the Division.
c) The Division shall provide the Association with a seniority list and shall post the seniority list in each school in the Division prior to February 1st of each year. Teachers shall have until February 28th to protest in writing any alleged omission or incorrect listing to the Division. The seniority list, as provided or amended, must be certified prior to March 7th by both parties in writing to be correct.
d) Definitions
i. Training
Instruction received as preparation for the profession of teaching which leads to the development of a particular skill or proficiency with respect to a particular subject or subjects.
ii. Qualifications
Refers to the classification in which the teacher is placed by the Professional Certification Section of the Administrative and Professional Certification Branch of Manitoba Education.
iii. Experience
The practical application of the training over a period of time with respect to the particular subject or subjects.
iv. Seniority
(a) All employees of the Turtle River School Division who have a teaching certificate and have a Teacher - General Contract shall accrue seniority while performing duties for the Division and shall be placed on the teachers' seniority list. Employees with a teaching certificate hired on a Limited Term Teacher - General Contract or contracts prior to being hired on a Teacher-General Contract shall have their continuous employment with the division recognized to the first day employed on previous Limited Term Teacher - General Contracts. They shall be placed on the seniority list with the date of hiring as per the first Limited Term Teacher - General Contract. Continuous employment shall be defined as Limited Term Teacher - General Contracts which fall within one year of the previous Limited Term Teacher – General Contract. The Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Student Services shall have their seniority recognized as per Letter of Understanding to be attached to the collective agreement.
(b) Where the teachers have the same length of continuous teaching experience as defined in d) iv. (a), the order of the seniority list shall be determined on the basis of the total length of employment with the Division.
(c) Where teachers have the same seniority as defined in (a), (b) the order of seniority shall be determined on the basis of total recognized teaching experience in Manitoba.
(d) Where teachers have the same seniority as defined in (a), (b), and (c), the order of seniority shall be determined on the basis of total recognized teaching experience recognized by the Province of Manitoba for classification purposes.
(e) If the length of teaching experience as defined in (a), (b), (c), and (d), is equal, the teacher to be declared surplus shall be determined by the Division.
(f) A teacher shall retain and accrue seniority if absent from work because of:
1. illness or accident up to the maximum days accumulated under the provisions of the collective agreement;
2. a leave of absence up to thirty (30) calendar days;
3. maternity leave under the provisions of the Employment Standards Code.
(g) A teacher shall retain but not accrue seniority if the teacher is:
1. on leave of absence in excess of thirty (30) calendar days;
2. laid off for a period of time less than that set out in (h) (3) hereof;
3. absent because of illness or accident for more than the maximum number of days accumulated under the provisions of the collective agreement;
4. absent because the Division has granted maternity leave beyond the requirements of the Employment Standards Act.
(h) Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, a teacher who is laid off shall lose recall rights for any of the following reasons;
1. a teacher resigns
2. the teacher becomes employed by another school division except in the case of employment under a Limited Term Teacher-General Contract not to exceed one year;
3. the teacher is not re-employed within one (1) calendar year after September 30th following the date of lay-off;
4. the teacher’s contract is terminated for cause;
5. the teacher on a re-employment list who refuses to accept a position for which the teacher has the necessary training, qualifications and experience to perform the work in the position(s) offered shall forfeit all right of seniority and re-employment and subject to the exception contained in (h) (2.) hereof. In circumstances as outlined in (h)(2.), any teacher who refuses to accept employment shall forfeit all claims to the position(s) offered.
e) In the event of a lay-off, three (3) Division representative shall meet with three (3) the Executive representatives of the Association to discuss the implications of the lay-off and shall provide the Association with a list of teachers to be laid off.
f) Notice of lay-off and a copy of this Article shall be given to the teacher by registered mail no later than the 10th day of May of any school year. The teacher, within fifteen (15) calendar days of receiving notice of lay-off, shall indicate, in writing by registered mail, his/her wish to be placed on the re-employment list. Notwithstanding anything else in this Article, failure to respond within the time limit specified in this paragraph shall relieve the onus on the Division for that teacher's placement on the re-employment list and the teacher shall lose seniority.
g) If after lay-offs have occurred and for a period of one calendar year after the 30th day of September following the date of lay-off, teachers who have been laid off and have given written notice that they wish to be recalled shall be offered the position(s) first, when position(s) become available and provided such teachers have the necessary training, qualifications and experience for the position(s) available. Seniority with the Division will be used to determine the order in which laid off teachers are offered the available position(s) provided that the said teachers have the necessary training, qualifications, and experience.
h) It shall be the responsibility of the teacher to report an address to which a recall notice can be delivered. Recall notices will be delivered by registered mail to the last reported address given by the teacher and a teacher who is recalled from lay-off shall be required to indicate, notwithstanding any other time limits in this collective agreement, within ten (10) calendar days of the registered letter being sent, his/her intent to return to work on the date set out in the notice which date shall not be less than fourteen (14) calendar days following such notification, unless by mutual agreement.
i) If a teacher is recalled as provided in g), the following will not be affected:
i. accumulated sick leave
ii. seniority gained prior to being laid off, but seniority shall not be accrued for the period of time of the lay-off.
j) Notwithstanding any other provisions in this Article, the foregoing procedure shall not apply to teachers who are not tenured (as defined by the Public Schools Act) or to teachers employed on a Limited Term Teacher - General Contract where during that term the teacher is employed on the express written understanding that such teacher will not, after the completion of such term, be employed by the Division.