Teachers are back to work after three days on the picket line, but more action may be on the way, as teachers plan to consider a new "action plan" at their annual general meeting March 17 to 20.
"The action plan may involve legal and working-to-contract type of actions, so there are very few, but there are some tools that teachers have," Sunshine Coast Teachers' Association president Louise Herle told Coast Reporter this week. "So the action plan may involve legal actions. It may also involve illegal actions."
Originally Herle thought the action plan would be released Thursday, March 8, and voted upon March 9, but on Thursday B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) president Susan Lambert announced the AGM as the time to consider the plan.
Herle admitted teachers' plans can change daily.
"This is a day-by-day operation right now," she said.
Teachers are working under phase one job action with the ability to legally strike one day a week with "notice of no less than two school days," the Labour Relations Board (LRB) ruling states.
"They'll [parents] always get their 48-hour notice in terms of walk out for daycare," Herle said. "We have no news at this time about next week ourselves as teachers. Certainly, parents and the community will know as soon as we do. Sometimes they even know faster depending on the media, but the 48-hour notice stands, and we respect the legal LRB ruling."
She said what teachers don't respect is the Education Improvement Act, Bill 22, that has been put forward by the provincial government.
The Bill sets a six-month cooling off period and suspends strike action while mediation takes place between the teachers and the employer.
If teachers do choose to strike after that Bill has been passed, they could be fined in the neighbourhood of $20 million a day.
"The fines are just so ridiculous," Herle said. "When you look at the fines of $475 per teacher per day, that equals $19 million, and the BCTF would be fined $1.3 million a day."
She called into question the multi-million dollar penalty when other "more serious" issues have warranted much less.
"There was the incident where three people were killed in Langley because a mushroom farm didn't follow regulations and three people died. That farm was fined $300,000 and we're talking $19 to $20 million a day for the teachers? It seems crazy," she said.
But Bill 22 is far from being made legislation, with NDP house leader John Horgan announcing earlier this week that all NDP MLAs planned to use their full half hour to debate the Bill.
As of Coast Reporter press time Thursday morning, there were still seven hours of NDP debate to be had on Bill 22, and with a one-week break for the legislature coming up on March 19, some guess it could take until the end of the month to call the vote.
Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons couldn't confirm that, noting when to call the vote is up to government.
"I have no idea really. I guess it's a situation that's fluid, but I'm definitely going to do what I can to say 'make the legislation better before you pass it, and if you can't make it better don't pass it,'" Simons said.
While debate continues and the future is uncertain, School District No. 46 (SD46) superintendent Patrick Bocking tried to assure parents that SD46 is on top of the situation and will send out information as soon as it becomes available.
"Parents can expect that they'll get good communication from the board," Bocking said, noting parents can check the website at www.sd46.bc.ca or the District's Twitter feed @SSCSchools for updates. The automatic calling system will also be used to keep parents up to date.
"We appreciate that it's a difficult time for parents. There's a lot of people who are working hard to find alternatives for their children and that's why we want to make sure our communication is as effective as possible," he said.
