Hydraboss

I am closely involved with the public school board in my area (not Parkland) and I am privy to an eye-opening amount of "insider information". Again, the 866.4 hours per year for teachers, and the 2016 hours per year (168 hrs/month X 12) BOTH take into account only gross earnings vs hours worked. This establishes a common grounds for comparison, and I made sure not to take into account the extras such as health plans, education allowances, etc as these are "perks" of the job and most jobs of this level have some. Fair is fair. The 10% (compounded year over year) is absolutely fair. I received a much higher raise this year alone. That is fair bargaining. What I have a problem with is the misrepresentation by teachers (actually, the union officials) that they are overworked and not being paid what they are worth. They want "pay equity" with nurses, police, politicians, and anyone else that they think makes more money. However, they will never even acknowledge the hourly rate comparison even if that is the only common ground on which to base their "pay equity". Perhaps if they actually worked more than part time, the general public opinion would change. As for leaking information, I always believed the statement "if you think there are two sides to every argument, you're not involved in it". Both sides are involved in active (sort of) bargaining, and therefore the BS continues. However, the Board Chair would not come out on television and say that 24 hr/week thing unless it was true. The union rep would tear her to shreds if she made a false comment to that effect.

Thanks, August, for ruining a perfectly good anti-tree-hugger rant. Pfftt.

Let the child die. One innocent child vs. six innocent people. Not much of a toss up in my books. Capital punishment isn't much of a deterrent either IMO... rational people don't commit murder, those killing people can't grasp the entire scope of their actions, definitely not their sentence. And if that one that was released killed 10 kids, or 20 kids, or raped 8 women? Is this just a matter of hitting the right number like a negotiation? As you said, rational people don't commit murder...then why are we wasting time trying to rehabilitate these animals before we release them on statutory? How many murderers and child rapists are repeat offenders? Does anyone have stats? The fact that we are actually talking about 6 innocent men vs an innumerable amount of repeat serious offenders begs closer scrutiny. One murderer for six innocents? Maybe, maybe not. What about 1000 repeat murderers for six innocent men? What about the, oh, 2000 innocents murdered by that 1000 for six innocent men? What number is enough for you? I bet I know. One of your immediate family for six innocent men. I know there isn't a father anywhere that wouldn't make that trade.

So if trees form a natural carbon sink, and less trees equals less CO2 absorption, then logically we need to have more trees. Or at least stop cutting down the ones we have. Hmmmm... So the REAL culprits are the logging companies. And the pulp mills who hire the loggers. And the tree-huggers who use the paper from the pulp mills to print anti-GHG leaflets. Hmmmm... So let's get them tree-huggers. Tax em and tax em good. And that is how we will raise the money to combat global warming. See how easy that was?

OUR. As in "legal taxpayers of Canada". That's whose money.

The 4.8 number is what the teachers want in this new agreement. It has not been settled. For any extra-ciricular activities, teachers are paid extra. Teachers are not paid the same as nurses, as nurses (with the exception of managers who are out-of-scope) are paid hourly for time actually worked. I cannot comment on police officers as I have not looked into it. If you are trying to argue that teachers spend a ton of time on class prep, I acknowledge that a new teacher may, but any teacher that does not have a class plan for the grade or class they have been teaching for years is either lazy or stupid. I don't believe either of these would be prevalent. It would be unfair to make the statement that in addition to the annualized hourly wage, teachers also get the summer off. My numbers include that in the hours worked calculation (866.4 proposed). Teachers in this school area are required to work 180.5 FDE (full-day equivalent) per 12 month period. Teachers propose that those days not exceed 4.8 hours. Incidentally, I am very familiar with teachers and their collective bargaining units. Most of my wife's family are teachers, and her father is a principal. (I have brought this up on a previous thread). These outings are considered instruction time, and are included in the proposed 866.4 hours per year. As for marking time after class, BS!!! In the vast majority of classes that my kids and nieces/nephews take, the students do peer marking in class. Rarely, if ever, do teachers have to mark outside of a workday. That is what "prep" periods are for (and if you're a teacher, you already knew this)

I cannot provide a link for the claim because they are in negotiations. However, the Board Chairman was on Global news at 6 last night and that is what she stated. I don't believe that these strike actions are ever about the kids or "classroom conditions". Everytime they stand on their soapbox and spout off about how it is for the kids, but then the school board offers them more money and they go back to work.

Personally, I think the term "racism" is racist. Maybe the UN should change that to "anti-specific-peoplism". What do ya think?

Sorry, forgot the link to their collective bargain (pre-agreement) www.teachers.ab.ca Look for Collective Bargaining and then Parkland School Division.

For any Albertans that have been following the news lately, you must have heard about the Parkland teachers strike in Stony Plain, Spruce Grove and surrounding area. So here is the latest: Teachers voted 95% to refuse the school board's latest offer that includes a 10% raise over three years. I know that they always use the catch phrases like "classroom conditions", etc, but the board came on Global news last night and finally said what the dispute is actually about. Classroom teaching time. Teachers want to reduce teaching time to a maximum of 24 hours per week (4.8 hours a day). Keep in mind that the average Canadian works 168 hours per month. The teachers also said that the raise was not nearly enough. So I did some base calculations, and here is what I came up with: At the end of the three years (you know, the offer they turned down!) $53416 Brand new teacher (0 years experience), 4 years education (basic degree) $59336 Brand new teacher (0 years experience), 6 years education (Masters degree) $62512 Teacher (5 years experience), 4 years education (basic degree) $68433 Teacher (5 years experience), 6 years education (Masters degree) $80093 Teacher (10 years experience), 4 years education (basic degree) $86016 Teacher (10 years experience), 6 years education (Masters degree) Now here's where the math gets interesting. If you calculate per hour earnings, the deal is an abomination. Per hour based on the teachers' proposed working schedule (4.8 hr/day, 180.5 days per year = 866.4 hrs/year) $61.65 Brand new teacher (0 years experience), 4 years education (basic degree) $68.49 Brand new teacher (0 years experience), 6 years education (Masters degree) $72.15 Teacher (5 years experience), 4 years education (basic degree) $78.99 Teacher (5 years experience), 6 years education (Masters degree) $92.44 Teacher (10 years experience), 4 years education (basic degree) $99.28 Teacher (10 years experience), 6 years education (Masters degree) Now do the calculation based on a so-called "average" Canadian (168 hr/month X 12 = 2016 hrs/year) $24.50 non-teacher $29.43 non-teacher $31.01 non-teacher $33.94 non-teacher $39.73 non-teacher $42.67 non-teacher So, the question is this: Since these people are paid from my taxes (and lots of them), should we let them continue to hold our children ransom, or just give them whatever they want, suck it up, and wait for the next time that they decide they want to work less and get paid more? As a side note, teachers are always complaining that they want pay equity with nurses. At 10 years experience, an RN in the Capital Health Authority makes about $34/hr but must work every hour that they are paid for. I think we should give them equity, and make them work for an hourly wage just like nurses.

True, but that is a matter of timeliness. When an injured worker is taken into a hospital, his provincial health care is billed initially but if his claim is accepted then the WCB pays back (reverse bills) the health authority and charges the costs to the employer's account. The same occurs in the case of auto coverage and/or section B benefits. They have not created an insurance company that lets so much as a dollar of money be paid unless they have to...they get it back. I have had numerous injuries that were denied by the Board (the claims were not accepted as work-related) and they still bill my account for the initial visit to hospital. WTF? When I called to question these charges on my account, I was told that the WCB had accepted responsibility for the billing and "reverse billed" but even though it wasn't their responsibility to pay for the medical treatment it was too late. So they bill the employer. "Oh well".

Careful there, you're opening up a whole new subject. My kids are forced to learn the all-but-dead bastardized version of French as of grade 4 here in Alberta. There has been huge push-back from parents regarding this, but it stands as the Alberta cirriculum. What we, as parents, have been advised to do by school administrators unofficially (you know, black trenchcoat-whispering under a bridge type of communication) is to ignore the French marks on their report cards. My wife and I simply don't make the kids do any homework or assignments in that almost-language. If they fail the course...who cares. It doesn't affect their overall marks or grade achievements. And the federal government policy of bilingualism is discriminitory. Why don't they have mandatory language requirements for people from India, or China, or Yemen, or Kentucky? French should be restricted to Kwebek as far as funding goes, and that should only be provincial money not federal. This country is not bilingual and never will be. Why don't they quit flogging a dead horse with my tax dollars and put it to good use. If Kwebek wants to have it's own language laws, then I can think of two scenarios where this would be acceptable: 1) Kwebek can dictate it's own language laws, and so can every other province. Welcome to Alberta. Only English allowed. 2) Kwebek separates and can dicatate it's own language laws, and so can Canada. Welcome to Canada. Only English allowed.

And what about all the headlines: "Convicted murderer, ____________, while out on parole killed again." "________, who has 126 past charges and 56 convictions, including violent crimes, is on trial again for murder." Etc, etc..... What about all the petitions signed by literally tens of thousands of Canadians asking for the laws of Canada to be changed? How come their opinions don't matter, but 650 lawyers opinions do? And the age old questions that everyone that is against capital punishment refuses to answer: "What if it were your 6 year old daughter that they found?"

So what, exactly, are the changes that need to be made? What are the items you feel are so damn important? Why is it that if Harper's "view of Canada" differs from yours, it must automatically be wrong? Saying that Harper is trying to destroy Canada is about as general as saying that Johnny Crouton hated western Canadians so he brought in the gun registry, and he hated all Canadians so he let Jane Stewart squander $1 billion dollars, and he hated the military so he cancelled their helicopters, and he hated Canada so he lied about getting rid of the GST. Do you see how ridiculous your assertions are?

Possibly. What if you changed the question to "would you rather 1000 lived than 6 die without merit?" I think you would have a much different response. And what if the question were "would you rather one live and be able to kill one child than 6 die without merit?"

Geoffrey, keep up this attitude in your posts and you will steal my line "Alberta Separatist".

Uhmm....this is all politicians. Remember the beer and popcorn.

Since "the bad element" is already aware that they can commit their crimes as long as they make it to Canada before they're caught (as kids we played tag and called it "homefree"), what would you say if someone were to do away with the President of the United States and then hightail it for Canada? Are you prepared to tell the US "we're not giving him to you unless you promise not to execute him"? Would you hand him over? I sure as hell would. As for all the people who believe that it is okay to harbor criminals to protect them, this is a perfect example of NIMBY. In Alberta, Edmonton has become the preferred nesting place of the not-so-elusive Child Rapist (refer to Hinterland Who's-Who for description). The bleeding hearts say "he may have done something wrong, but he has rights you know!" How many of these same people will offer their basement suite to these creatures? Not a one I'll bet. I notice that Argus has received absolutely no response to his questions in this regards. What's the matter, no snappy comebacks people?

Geoffrey, keep in mind that in my experience health benefits will not pay when it is a workplace incident. They consider that the jursdiction of the WCB. I am aware of one plan obtainable through a Canadian chartered bank that pays out in any event, but our corporate plans through both SunLife and Manulife specifically state that workplace injuries are not covered by them when covered by another body (read: WCB). AD&D benefits are mandatory with most, if not all, companies that offer benefits but this does not cover loss of income due to workplace compensable injuries. Maybe your's is different. There is additional WCB coverage that individuals can purchase, but in my years of dealing with the Board, I have seen exactly....0 cases of this (because now the worker would have to pay out-of-pocket for the coverage). As for relying on the WCB, unless you are self-employed and sign the documents required, you are mandated by the Worker's Compensation Act of Alberta (W-15) to supply coverage for your workers. And then the merry-go-round begins again.......

No flaming guyser, just a question. If that worker is considered to be on company time, then shouldn't he have to comply with company rules whenever he is considered so? If the company I work for has the responsibility for him, then perhaps our Drug and Alcohol Policy should apply. If this same thing happened while he was on a job site (during working hours) he would have been fired immediately. So if WCB coverage is going to cover him on my account, I should have control over the situation. If you loan your buddy your car, knowing that if he gets in an accident your insurance will have to pay the collision, how would you feel about him letting you know that he will be going to the bar, drinking, and driving it home? Do you want control over his actions? Would you even let him have the car? What if you weren't home and the buddy was your roommate? Would it be okay with you to be held responsible for him grabbing your keys without your permission and doing the same thing? What if he were deemed a "capitve roommate"? I would have no problem with the ruling if it were consistent in it's application. The Board, however, makes decisions based on the individual interpretation of the Case Manager. Anyone who believes otherwise should spend a day looking through "restricted access" WCB employee case files. Your head would spin on your shoulders.

Geoffrey, sorry I should have spoken more clearly. HSE = Health, Safety and Environment. Sideshow, I agree that as a concept, WCB makes sense. However, it is not at all simple to change the administration of the Board. WCB is legislation and all changes must be made at the government level. Case in point: If you have had a back injury (current or past) and you pay for an MRI on your back for an unrelated problem, the WCB has the legal right to obtain the results EVEN IF THEY REFUSE TO PAY FOR THE TEST. The Board has it's own legislation (the Worker's Compensation Act in Alberta), and all provincial legislation allows for WCB legislation to take precedence under the "Other Act" loophole. As for an "arm's length" unit of doctors, why would they? Doctors are paid on a percentage of standard billing to the board. As an example, for a dentist that is allowed to charge a health plan based on the Provincial Dental Schedule, say, $60 for an exam. If the same dentist examines the same patient on a work-related injury, he would be able to bill $87. (These numbers may be off a little, I'm not at my office computer) The same applies to any medical or medical-related process. I have workers that go to their family physicians to be seen about a minor injury (pinched finger, etc) and when I receive the C-151 doctor's report, the worker is supposed to be seen for follow-up exams EVERY WEEK for 4-6 weeks. WTF? This is how the WCB makes sure that workers do not have to wait on any waiting lists that normal people do. How long does it take for your doctor to get you in for an MRI? The WCB can usually get you in within 48 hours. The only part of the WCB that works is THE IDEA of no-fault employer/worker insurance. The entire system is set up to screw both employers and workers. As an employer, I would rather be able to pay an employee for three or four days off to let a sore arm heal. So would most workers. BUT IT IS ILLEGAL. If I pay a worker, I have to report it and the WCB sends me a cheque. More than you may know. Search the net for e-groups of injured workers, and read their stories of how the WCB screwed them. I know that there are lots of employers that do this as well, but they are playing the system as it is set up. Not illegal, just morally wrong. I have had cases where the company has cell-phone video of "injured" workers doing things the they are supposedly incapable of doing. The WCB will not even view this material, and we have received letters telling us to back off as they feel we are creating a "hostile working environment". There is no way a worker can be called on the mat for faking unless they piss off a Case Manager and he or she decides to investigate the worker's claim. Want a good one? Six years ago there was a field worker that we sent to do a crew job out of town. KEEP IN MIND THE WORKER PUT ALL OF THIS IN WRITING TO THE BOARD. When his shift at the rig ended, he and his crew drove back to the town they were staying in. They did what every damn oilfield worker does after shift. They went to the local bar and got drunk. While playing pool (remember - he's drunk) he tripped on another guys cue and broke his leg. Compound fracture. The Board accepted his claim and he was off work collecting full benefits for almost six months. Why? He was deemed a "captive employee" which means that even though he was off duty, the company was paying for his hotel room and he couldn't go home that night. In essence, the Board said he was still working. Now the big problem with this was that the worker made six digits a year, but his benefits only allowed for him to receive $711 per week. My total on this claim? $86,000 billed against one of my accounts. So who got screwed in the end? Employer AND worker.

And this is the reason that these same workers talk to me AND to their WCB Case Manager (who is supposed to be neutral). Lots of them probably suspect her. Like anything else, the smaller percentage of scammers get all the press. While not all cases are clear, there are many that are extremely transparent. One thing that most scammers have in common is that they can't keep their mouth shut about how smart they are. What they forget is that the guys they work with that they brag to ALSO don't know how to keep their mouths shut. Word gets around really quick, even to me. And, no, I am not a physician. I have, however, dealt with a great number of cases of workplace injury over the years. Rarely do I see a case that I haven't already gone through in the past, and I am quite able to spot ones that don't seem to be consistent. What has to be kept in mind is that the Alberta WCB no longer has a straight-forward method for employers to dispute the validity of a claim. As for a full evaluation, the worker's doctor is the primary contact for short-term injuries. The opinion of a company-paid physician carries no weight with a compensation board and that is why this type of treatment/evaluation is almost non-existent in Canada. If there is a question regarding validity or severity of a lost-time injury, the Adjudicator/Case Manager from WCB can arrange a Medical Status Exam (MSE) or an Independant Medical Exam (IME). The joke is that while the doctor conducting the IME cannot have any other involvement in the worker's treatment, the majority of these physicians work almost exclusively for the WCB. What exactly is "independant" about that? The WCB's mandate is to get injured workers back to their "pre-accident level" employment as fast as possible, and if you COULD check, I'm sure you would find that a lot of the return-to-work cases have probably caused more damage to injured workers than the original injury. It's all about the money. In the case of my wife, the "independant" physician actually has his office in the Millard Center (this is the rehab center in Edmonton, which also has WCB Case Managers and physicians working in it). Both we and her employer would have been better off financially had we sued them. The WCB increases the employer's rate by percentage (which will probably cost them in the six digit area) and my wife received the maximum payout per week (which because of the maximum insurable earnings set by the board, amounts to less than 60% of what she makes while working). Lose - lose situation. Unless you're the WCB, in which case you win in a huge way.

In addition to my having no use for any WCB, you forgot to mention that my wife is still on modified duties after being on lost time for nine months. We would have been farther ahead without WCB, much farther. I not only deal with the Boards as an employer, I deal with them on a personal level. As a Director of HSE, I also see every single injured worker from the three provinces we do business in. Let me tell you, other than the scammers (and there's lots of them) the vast majority of truly injured workers would rather deal with me than the WCB.

Beaten, who don't you quit yammering until you know something? 3000 out of 100,000 is a huge amount of permanent disability cases. If a company had that kind of record, they would have already been shut down. Why don't you educate yourself about WCB's in Canada before you get on your high horse? As has been said, the WCB's are broken and should be abolished. As an employer, I would gladly see each and every worker that wanted to sue, in court in front of a judge. The premiums alone that most mid to large businesses pay would cover quite a few lawsuits PER YEAR. You commenting on WCB policy is like me commenting on piloting the space shuttle. I could make the words come out, but I doubt they would make any sense to anyone who actually knew how to fly it.

Pension fund surplus should not be accessable by the government. The feds grabbing it was about as sleazy as a bank taking the interest off my investments. What if the interest earnings were in the range of 8%? "Don't worry, you'll still get your principle plus the agreed 3%". How many of you would be okay with that scenario? Regardless of who manages the fund, surplus should be viewed as either overpayment or future fund security. Balancing a budget (or building a fountain in Kwebek) with the extra money should be criminal. Regardless of the who the government of the day happens to be.