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A bridge too far
Head of the class
Planners ponder how pedestrians will cross through the Craigflower bridge work zone this summer. News, Page A3
Olympian Adam Kreek will try to set a Guiness record for a rowing class this Friday in Victoria. Sports, Page A26
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Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Classrooms go quiet in SD 62 Teachers strike for three days Edward Hill News staff
But for the quiet swish of mops, classrooms in the Sooke School District were quiet this week in the wake of the provincial teachers’ strike. One 10-year-old boy had the run of Happy Valley elementary on Monday, but parents kept the vast majority of students at home. Of about 8,500 kids in the district, less than a dozen were dropped off at schools. “We are here and we are open,� remarked Julia Sahota, principal of Happy Valley. “We can keep them safe, but there are no teachers here to teach them.� Silence in school halls was in contrast to honks of support from traffic as hundreds of West Shore teachers walked “information lines� for their legal three-day strike. Teachers say the job action is about fighting for control of class size and adequate help for special needs students. “There are so many students with different needs in a class of 35 to 40. I can’t get to every student who needs one-on-one attention or help,� said Paul Waterlander, staff union rep and a Belmont secondary history teacher. “Today is a response to a government that refuses to negotiate with teachers. Bill 22 is contract stripping,� he said. “The (B.C. Teachers’ Federation) is asking for neutral mediation, not government appointed mediators.� The atmosphere on the “information lines� remained jovial and good spirited as teachers paced sidewalks to keep warm.
Problem.
Charla Huber/News staff
Lynn Straiton, treasurer of CUPE local 495 and a Sooke School District bus driver, takes some time to deep clean his bus on Monday due to the teacher’s strike. Non-teaching staff are still on the job during the labour dispute. As SD 62 secretary treasurer Dave Lockyer walked out of the Jacklin Road district office, he waved to Belmont teachers and called out a friendly “hello.� “We are all friends here,� Lockyer said. “It’s really not a problem here, it’s a problem at the provincial level.� Sooke Teachers Association president Patrick Henry said teachers are overwhelmed from support of the passing public. “Everyone is chipper and cheerful with all the support they are getting,� he said. The BCTF maintains Bill 22 strips key provisions out of collective agreement, including class size and composition. The wording of Bill 22 does disallow the teachers’ collective bargaining from including the negotiation of class sizes, work loads, staffing level ratios, and a number of provisions that might restrict the power of a school board to make regulations. The bill does restrict class size to 30 students for grades 4 to 12, unless overridden by the district or school principal.
Belmont teachers line Jacklin Road Monday morning on the first of a three-day strike this week. Charla Huber/News staff
“Other unions recognize this as a labour busting agenda,� Henry said. Teachers have permission from the Labour Relations Board to strike for three days this week and one day per week over the next two weeks. Henry couldn’t predict if teachers would return to classrooms on Thursday. The BCTF and teachers can be heavily fined for illegal strike days. “I can’t speculate. It’s day by day right now,� Henry said on Monday. “No one can
Solution.
predict what will happen.� In the meantime, non-teaching staff are taking advantage of empty classrooms to catch up on maintenance and cleaning. “The chairs are up, (janitorial staff) are waxing floors and doing what needs to be done,� said SD 62 superintendent Jim Cambridge. “Work is happening all over.� PLEASE SEE: Government, Page A4
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