The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Board office staff to stage work action Monday Union members upset at speed of ongoing contract negotiations TIM WHITNELL Special to The IFP Office staff at the Halton District School Board are planning a rally and a job action campaign as a response to what they perceive is a bogged-down process in negotiating a new contract. Members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) District 20 Halton, Clerical and Technical bargaining unit are set to begin work sanctions on Monday. In advance of working-to-rule, the bargaining unit held a membership rally Wednesday prior to that night's board meeting of Halton public school trustees. The employee group consists of secretaries, library technicians and repair technicians. Debbie Majka, president of the District 20 OCTU bargaining unit, stated in a news release, "Our bargaining unit represents over 250 office, clerical and technical staff working in both elementary and secondary schools right across Halton, as well as in the board's central offices. The work we do is essential to the efficient and safe operation of our schools and it's time for the board to show its respect for the contributions our members make and come to the bargaining table prepared to negotiate seriously." Sandra Sahli, executive officer of OSSTF and chair of the negotiating team, added, "We have made every effort to avoid moving to job sanctions, but this bargaining unit has now been without a contract for 20 months." The executive officer of human resources for the board said the union has made them aware of the upcoming job action. "They told us in conciliation (meeting). They didn't have to, and they gave us a detailed list (of possible actions), so we appreciate that," said Dawn BeckettMorton, who is also the board's chief contract negotiator. "Any time there are sanctions in a school it's hard," she said. Job action, she said, could take the form of those members delaying or slowing down their work, leaving schools or the board office on time and not handling money related to school fundraising. Beckett-Morton said the two sides have met about a half-dozen times, the most recent being a few weeks ago with a conciliator.