Sides continue to trade shots as Kamloops-Thompson district prepares for rotating strike

NEWS/ TEACHERS — Teachers and their employer continue to trade shots as they approach next week’s rotating strikes.

The government’s threat to roll back teachers’ wages during job action will have significant impacts on students for the rest of this school year, says the B.C. Teachers Federation.

A letter from the B.C. Public School Employers Association was delivered to BCTF president Jim Iker on Thursday telling teachers their wages will be cut by five per cent for current job action and 10 per cent if they carry through with strikes next week.

Starting Monday, the day rotating strikes begin, teachers will also be prohibited from being at school more than 45 minutes before and after class time, and from working during recess or lunch hour.

Kamloops-Thompson School District teachers will take their turn at striking next Wednesday. A letter from superintendent Terry Sullivan went out to parents Thursday explaining what will happen when the teachers are off the job.

“Schools will be closed and behind picket lines and buses will not run,” Sullivan said in the letter.

“Extra curricular activities, such as field trips, will also be cancelled for that day. Schools will reopen on Thursday, May 29.”

He said school officials will do their best to keep parents informed by letter and telephone messaging.

Assistant superintendent Karl deBruijn said today (Friday) phone messages will go out today with another message on the eve of the strike.

“We can’t say for sure how it’s going to affect everything,” he said. “We have to see how it unfolds.”

The BCTF’s Iker said that as a result of what he called “Christy Clark’s lockout,” teachers could be disciplined for helping a struggling student at lunch hour.

What’s more, he said, extra-curricular activities including clubs, drama, music and sports will be cancelled, graduation ceremonies will be impacted, and final exams for some senior secondary students will not be marked.

“We were careful to ensure that already scheduled extra-curricular and volunteer activities continued. We wanted to minimize the impact on students,” Iker said. “During rotating strikes, teachers would continue all volunteer activities four out of five days a week.”

Iker said the planned lockouts will also impact all Grade 10 English students and Social Studies 11 students who are scheduled to write their provincial exams on June 24.

“With all secondary schools under lockout beginning June 25, there will be no teachers present to mark thousands of exams.”

However, the BCPSEA said teachers are free to participate in extracurricular activities such as grad ceremonies, sports and awards events and extended field trips.

“Teachers are still required to complete all evaluation of student work including year end exams, submission of marks, and completion of report cards, as well as other year-end student reports.”