Teachers are being directed by their union to not take part in any extracurricular or volunteer activity this week, with the B.C. Teachers’ Federation citing confusion caused by the partial lockout imposed on them.
The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association brought in the partial lockout in reaction to rotating strikes that began Monday and continue until Thursday in school districts across the province. The employers’ association and the union are scheduled to argue the legality of the lockout before the Labour Relations Board on Thursday.
Sooke Teachers’ Association president Ian Johnson said he is sending a strong message to refrain from extracurricular activity.
“Legally, we’re telling our members ‘You won’t volunteer, you will not do it because you will be potentially subject to discipline pending an LRB decision.’”
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The Monday strikes sparked a 10 per cent cut to teachers’ salaries by the employers’ association, based in part on the premise of teachers doing less work during the lockout. The terms of the lockout keep teachers from working during recess and lunch hour, and from being at school 45 minutes before or after classes.
Four groupings of B.C.’s 60 school districts are taking turns going on strike this week. Today a group of districts including Saanich will be on strike, followed by a group including the Greater Victoria district Wednesday and a group including the Gulf Islands district Thursday.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender said he was against any disruption of extracurricular and volunteer opportunities.
“I think that’s a shame,” he said. “As I said at the beginning, I am concerned because this is now affecting students and their parents and the communities. Teachers have a choice to participate in extracurricular activities as they have previously.”
While the union said teachers should wait until there is confirmation from WorkSafe B.C. that they are on solid ground with extracurricular activity during the partial lockout, Fassbender said WorkSafe B.C. coverage for teachers will not be compromised.
“Any teacher that is at any activity that is sanctioned by a school district is absolutely covered by WorkSafe. There is no question of that.
“We recognize that they want to help with graduations, they want to continue to coach basketball teams and we encourage them to do that.”
Mount Douglas Secondary School has its graduation ceremony scheduled for Wednesday at the University of Victoria, followed by Esquimalt High School on Thursday and Reynolds Secondary School on Friday. All are going ahead, said Greater Victoria school district superintendent Sherri Bell.
Bell said today’s district track-and-field meet for elementary schools will have enough people organizing it to take place as planned.
Fassbender said he is not eager to legislate an end to the impasse between teachers and the employers’ group.
“We want a negotiated settlement. To rush to legislation is not where we’re going to go. We want the BCTF to come to the table with a wage response that is reasonable and within the zone of other public-sector unions. We expect them to come with something that is affordable for taxpayers.
“I am saying we are not looking at legislation; we want a negotiated settlement.”
With additional reporting by Lindsay Kines
