Over 800 Wpg School Division 1 - sick day during blizzard

The average is 200 employees calling in sick, apparently.

Now those who called in sick are being asked for a doctor's note.

Solution? Don't call in sick if you're not! I think most of us went to work. One of my co-workers called in sick due to the snow blocking her car.

The employees who lied about being sick ought to be ashamed. Learn to shovel your driveway.

A little ridiculous to ask for a doctors note after the fact.



The real solution would be for the schools to not be open.

Could be the 'White' Flu.
Remember the 'Blue' Flu years ago?
A bunch of police called in sick to protest a suspension (?) of a police officer. The officers were then required to produce a doctor's note. Many of these officers than used the same doctor.

So we have lying teachers in a bureaucracy! Very sad state of affairs, although this is something that one cannot control in any way.
Who is the bureaucrat asking for a Doctor's certificate when one doesn't go to a Doctor for a cold or the 24 hour flu. I believe that a note is needed after 3 days . Probably in their written agreement!
Teaching should be done with volunteers, not over paid University graduates. Think of the savings!

trebor204 wrote:Could be the 'White' Flu.
Remember the 'Blue' Flu years ago?
A bunch of police called in sick to protest a suspension (?) of a police officer. The officers were then required to produce a doctor's note. Many of these officers than used the same doctor.

Yet another example of the way the police lie when it suits their own purpose eh.

Deank wrote:A little ridiculous to ask for a doctors note after the fact.



The real solution would be for the schools to not be open.

ACtually, the real solution would be for the "professionals" to be professional and show up for work when they're supposed to. Four times the number of people call in sick on the day of a little, wimpy ass "blizzard", c'mon, give me a break.

Good example to set for the kids.

meh... they should not have to use a sick day for a storm.

however I do know teachers that live on well plowed routes that actually told me then played hookey that day.. and even kept the kids home when they only have to walk about 1000 feet

I kept my daughter home...I know for a fact that when the school buses are not running 75% of the students aren't at school. What's the point of sending her to school to do arts and crafts all day in an empty classroom? I don't think they need all the teachers when each room is 1/4 capacity.

I don't see the big deal. We all need a mental health day every now and then. They happened to choose one when most students are absent as well. I don't use my sick time 100% exclusivey for when I'm sick and I'm sure most people are the same about it.

Also, what percentage of teachers live outside the perimeter in the division? You can't expect a normal amount of them to show up when travel is not advised. I had probably 20% of my coworkers missing just from that fact alone.

I don't see the big deal in this stat at all.

" I don't think they need all the teachers when each room is 1/4 capacity."

agreed

"I had probably 20% of my coworkers missing just from that fact alone."

mine was probably closer to 50% BUT we can work from home remotely as well. apparently the office was pretty empty though

800 people calling in sick, and who gets to pay for that? Can't tell me that a whole bunch of those are bullshit.

Keep in mind that this is Winnipeg School Division and how many kids were missing due to cancellation of buses?

Mental health days are one thing (we refer to them as weekends and vacation) but 800 taking them at once, coincidentally on the day of a "blizzard". I don't have to be standing in it to know bullshit.

I can only assume that we are referring ot paid sick days, which are a benefit provided by the employer so that employees do not suffer any financial impact in the event of illness which prevents them from working. Can anyone really say that this is the case? I guess the school division doesn't think so either, thats why they're asking for the doctors certificates.

ahh now this changes things a little bit

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sick-days-spike-during-blizzard-83424542.html
"If you call in because of hazardous weather conditions, that's fine," Babinsky said. "Maybe (some people didn't) realize that... . You book off that day, you don't get paid for it, and life goes on"

I totally agree that they are out of line then. However I still think the school division should have been closed.

If they close they have to pay everyone. If they don't close, they don't. Simple.

The thing that gets me is that the so-called blizzard resulted in very little snow.

I drove to work that morning and the streets had barely 2 inches of snow on them. The streets were deserted and I got to work in LESS time than it usually takes.

Are Winnipeggers getting weak?

Even in Calgary people were going to work after the city was hit with 20+ cm in one day in early December.

It wasn't the snow...it was the near zero visibility outside the perimeter. I lots of people commute from out of town. From what I heard from a few people who did make it in from north of the perimeter it was totally nuts. Most wished they had stayed home.

I personally think any day when the school buses aren't running they may as well shut the schools down. No meaningfull work goes on anyways with more than half the students missing anyways. You may as well shut er down, it doesn't end up affecting the school budget either way as I'm sure they budget assuming everyone will be at work. Closing the doors and paying everyone doesn't INCREASE the budget regardless as you would have been paying them if the weather had been nice.

Too many people seem to be pissed off cause they got paid. In my opinion you may as well call all sick days personal days and be done with it already. Look it as part of their total compensation package and stop getting caught up in the "they got paid to stay home and they weren't sick" . It's not a huge deal in the big picture.

Also, really the school division expects notes 10 days after the fact? LMFAO...what doctor is going to write that note. Personally I think it would be a HUGE drain on the medical system if all employers started acting this way. My doctor would not so very politely tell me to stop wasting his time if I went in with a cold, migraine etc. and told him I needed a note for work. Sometimes we just need to accept that people are not 100% up to going in , but not so ill they need a doctor. I'd prefer my co-workers stay home and not give me their germs. I don't give a flying f'ck wether or not they go to a doctor and neither should my employer.

Something you have to realize with Winnipeg School Division is that the percentage of bused students is very small in comparison to other divisions. Most of the students who are bused to school are special needs or in an immersion/special program like an alternative program or LAC. If you choose to go to another school that is not your local, (unless your local school is more than a certain distance away) it is your responsibity to get there, including paying for school bus. So the vast majority of students who attend Winnipeg School Division get to school by walking or being driven by parents or Transit. So to say that 1/4 of the population was there may be accurate, it is not because the buses were not running.
Another thing people don't understand and Babinsky conveniently forgot to say is teachers do not "phone in" for a sub. It is all done via the computer and you only have a few options to choose from as far as why your are requesting a sub. Some of the reasons however do not allow for a sub so the teacher is even limited more so. Each school is also different in their requirement of the teacher to call in to the local secretary as a courtesy. A lot of the schools don't require staff to notify them, the school will figure it out once the sub shows up.

Maybe some schools don't have many kids bused in...but I know my daughters school is easily over 50%. Either way I don't see what all the hooplah is. If I wasn't dropping her off I wouldn't want my kids walking in that crap anyways. It's was ridiculously cold.

How many people didn't get ot work because of the "blizzard'? Does industry get to shut down because of it? Its a choice as to where you live and how you get to work. I noticed no discernable difference in public transportation. (I took the bus both ways without delay)

How did those "sick" teachers know how many kids were going to show up for class? They didn't, they just phoned in sick rather than saying "I'm a suck and I don't want to go out in the cold/" and then expect to be paid for it.

Is it in the budget to pay for the subs for that day as well?

And one other thing, a lot of the teachers who may have "called in sick" may have done so because their children also may not have been able to get to school for whatever reason. I don't see a huge deal in it either. If you can't make it to work, call in "sick" as that is the only option available on the computer system. And yes if a sub showed up for the job ordered then he/she would also have been paid for the day's work.

"If you can't make it to work, call in "sick" as that is the only option available on the computer system. "

Not according to Babinsky's quote.

I do not put too much stock into anything coming out of Babinsky's mouth unless it destined for my garden this spring.

I think we are becoming too dismissive a society if we can cavalierly dismiss 800 teachers calling in sick just because they don't want to drive after a little storm.

You can tell most did not even try else they would not have called in sick as road conditions in Winnipeg were actually quite good. Like sputnik I made better time getting to work that day.

BTW I am NOT referring to folks living outside Winnipeg.

Deank wrote:"If you can't make it to work, call in "sick" as that is the only option available on the computer system. "

Not according to Babinsky's quote.

Not sure which quote you are referring to but as MizP pointed out, don't take too much stock out on anything Babinsky says. He is a trustee, not a teacher so most likely has no idea what the computer system looks like or how to access it. And this is encompassing not only teachers but teacher aides, who also have a computer absentee system with limited selections for requesting a sub as well as the custodial staff who were also "calling in sick" I don't know what their procedure is for sick days. They may still be on the call in system as opposed to the computerized system. So to say 800 teachers would be wrong, it was 800 staff members, some of who may have called in sick prior to the Monday morning for legit reasons.

Deank wrote:ahh now this changes things a little bit

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/sick-days-spike-during-blizzard-83424542.html
"If you call in because of hazardous weather conditions, that's fine," Babinsky said. "Maybe (some people didn't) realize that... . You book off that day, you don't get paid for it, and life goes on"

I totally agree that they are out of line then. However I still think the school division should have been closed.

that one holy

And again, teachers/teachers aides do not "call in", they use a computerized system that does not have "blizzard" as a reason for being away. The computer system has very limited reasons to call in for in the drop down menu and "sick" is one that is used for more that it's meaning because it is one that does not require the staff member to "register" for a course or inservice. If Babinsky actual spoke like he knew what he was talking about it would be pertinent but again he is Mike Babinsky. And the union that is mentioned in the Free Press article is the custodian's union so the MTS (Manitoba Teachers Society, not phone) has yet to way in on this one. Don't see that little tidbit mentioned in the article.
And as has been mentioned on the comments section of the Free Press, what doctor is going to write a note for an "illness" that happened 2 weeks ago???????????

Does the call in software have "inclement weather" or "other"?

I bet they selected "sick" to avoid the hassle of explaining why they couldn't be bothered to try to get to work.