A4 • www.vicnews.com
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - VICTORIA
NEWS
Labour board defines teacher volunteer work No end in sight for strike action, contract dispute Natalie North News staff
Teachers can skip the grad ceremonies and sports practices through the end of the year, but their presence at parent-teacher interviews and kindergarten orientations is nonnegotiable. Ritu Mahil, vice-chair of the British Columbia Labour Relations Board, backed the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation on Friday (June 15), when she ruled teachers were within their rights to withdraw from voluntary extracurricular activities such as coaching, supervising field trips or overseeing school clubs. Supporting part of the Public School Employers’ Associa-
tion’s claim that withdrawing from voluntary extracurricular activities as an unlawful strike, the ruling stated that teachers can't skip activities that are part of their regular work duties, such as school based team meetings, individual education program meetings and parent-teacher interviews. The labour board found the BCTF had been engaged in aspects of an unlawful strike and issued a cease and desist order from withdrawing from their regular duties performed outside of class hours. Still, Tara Ehrcke, president of the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association, considers the ruling a win for educators. “I don’t think there have been any actual circumstances where anybody was trying to not do those things,� she said. “Voluntary work is indeed voluntary and teachers are free to volunteer (or not).� The GVTA will discuss their
next course of action during a representative meeting this August. Any action will depend on decisions made over the summer by the Ministry of Education and ministry-appointed mediator Charles Jago, who has until June 30 to submit his recommendations. Bill 22, legislation which imposes hefty fines for illegal striking, expires at the end of August, potentially placing parents, students, teachers and school administration back in the same position they were in last fall. “We’ve been instructing teachers not to make commitments given that there’s some uncertainty in what situation we’ll be in, in September,â€? Ehrcke added. “At this point we’re still calling on government for a fair and negotiated agreement. ‌ In the event there’s an imposed settlement and it involves con-
cessions, we’ll be looking at what further action we can take next school year.� Ehrcke will be among teachers rallying outside the Ministry of Education today (June 20) at 4 p.m. The gathering is in support of public education and the board of education in Cowichan, whose members face possible termination after submitting a deficit budget this spring. Even if an agreement is reached under Jago’s process for B.C.’s 41,000 teachers – the BCTF and province began negotiations in March 2011 – it will only remain in effect until June, 2013 and next round of bargaining will begin again next March. “There’s no end in sight,� Ehrcke said. nnorth@saanichnews.com
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Daddy dearest Dad Colin Campbell gets a Father’s Day kiss from his daughter, Aylia, 3, before the start of the entertainment at Beacon Hill Park during the city’s annual Ceilidh in the Park.
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