Public-sector sick days on life support?Ottawa calls absenteeism ‘exceedingly high,’ union says government is misleading Canadians07/02/2013|Canadian Labour Reporter|Last Updated: 07/03/2013 Following months of high-tension negotiations, Ontario’s teachers saw their sick days cut and the right to bank unused sick days removed when their agreement with the provincial government was finalized earlier this year.As a result, many started using up their sick days, leaving schools searching for substitute teachers to cover the slack, according to an article in the Toronto Star.Just days later, the federal government announced it planned to tackle employee absenteeism in the public sector, citing an annual absenteeism rate of 18.2 days, including paid and unpaid leave, compared to 6.7 days in the private sector. To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Sign In Remember Me Forgot Password If you are a current Subscriber, please click here to set-up or update your login information.