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WHOOPING COUGH SPREADING IN VALLEY
THURSDAY, MAR. 1, 2012
FFraser Health has extended its pertussis vaccination campaign PAGE 9
Teachers’ job action escalating BY TOM FLETCHER AND JASON ROESSLE Mission Record
As the Labour Relations Board (LRB) gave B.C. teachers a green light to strike for up to three days next week, Education Minister George Abbott tabled legislation Tuesday that would suspend all strike action and could impose millions of dollars in fines per day if a strike persists. As the legislature debates the “Education Improvement Act,” the B.C. Teachers’ Federation could legally walk off the job as early as Monday. Teachers are to complete their own vote on that option Wednesday. Results of the vote were not known by The Record’s press time. At the Mission Teachers’ Union (MTU) office, vicepresident Mark Bradshaw said the number of teachers he witnessed streaming through the doors to vote on Tuesday will likely result in a record number of voters. “There were 87 people here to vote before school started and that’s higher than normal,” he said.
Bradshaw said the MTU was reviewing the legislation put forward by the government and “on first reading it looks exceedingly nasty.” Particularly, Bradshaw said the document puts “contract stripping provisions” into the legislation, and puts no limit on the number of special needs students in classes and that professional development day activities must fall inline with the district’s objectives. BCTF President Susan Lambert said in a press release Tuesday that this legislation is “a destructive act of legislative vandalism that will violate collective bargaining rights for teachers and have a profoundly negative impact on learning conditions for students.” The LRB ruled Tuesday that teachers can legally strike for up to three consecutive days in one week after two days’ notice, and a further one day in each subsequent week with the same notice. That could
MSS wins Fraser Valleys The seniors boys basketball team at Mission Secondary School clinched its second consecutive Fraser Valley championship title last weekend. The Roadrunners leave for provincials in Kamloops on Tuesday, and they enter the competition seeded number one amongst AA schools. Here, MSS’ Luke Morris drives for the basket in Saturday’s Fraser Valley zone championships at Archbishop Carney. Mission defeated GW Graham for the title.
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