THUNDER BAY -- Thunder Bay Catholic District School board teachers are fed up with what they deem a lack of transparency in the hiring process.
On Monday evening more than 300 took to the streets in protest, shouting “Experience matters” as they marched in circles in front of the board’s Victoria Avenue West office.
Aldo Grillo, president of the Thunder Bay Elementary Catholic Teachers union, said teachers deserve to know more about how internal jobs are filled and claimed at present there is neither rhyme nor reason to explain how its done.
It should be seniority based, he said.
“We are a unionized workforce. Pretty much every other bargaining unit with the board has some form of seniority that acknowledges dedication to the employer and many years of service,” Grillo said. “Quite honestly, with jobs as they come up internally, it’s time for experience and seniority to be addressed by this employer.”
Teachers are entering the third year of a three-year contract, and while financial matters were dealt with at the provincial level, it’s issues like these that could push teachers to consider further action if an agreement can’t be reached.
“As far as we’re concerned, there is no set criteria, nothing that is substantive enough for these people behind you to find credible,” Grillo said.
At issue are internal transfers, which are posted internally first. If not enough union employees apply to fill the positions, then new teachers are hired.
The ironic part, Grillo said, is that the occasional teachers that are usually hired to fill vacancies are hired in order of their seniority.
The board, for its part, said it’s not willing to include the union in the hiring process.
Bob Hupka, chair of the board of trustees at the Catholic board, said he’s not sure why teachers are saying the board isn’t being transparent.
“That you’ll have to ask them,” he said. “We have a hiring policy that’s been in effect for years and years, recently updated in 2013, and we follow that policy very stringently.”
Hupka added he’s not going to negotiate a new contract in public.
