B.C. labour board to provide neutral ‘troubleshooters’ for COVID-19 school plans
Posted November 11, 2020 5:33 pm.
VANCOUVER – British Columbia’s Labour Relations Board says it will provide neutral third-party “troubleshooters” to help iron out challenges arising from COVID-19 protocols in public schools.
The B.C. Teachers Federation filed an application to the board in September asking for help with concerns about unsafe working conditions in schools when the government launched its restart plan.
In letter to members re LRB ruling, @bctf President @TeriMooring guiding members to wear/encourage masks even without mandate (though she will continue pressing): "You can't force students to wear masks, but you can model mask wearing and normalize it."#bcpoli #bced @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/bHvPn83xel
— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) November 12, 2020
The teachers’ union says in an email to members that the labour board’s recommendations closely reflect what the union was seeking.
It says that all along, the K-12 restart plan was missing a mechanism to address failures in communication or required health and safety measures.
It says the new troubleshooting process will help schools and local unions get changes in a much faster and efficient way.
The labour board also recommends that before making any new changes, the government should share its reasons with a steering committee that includes teachers, parents, support staff, Indigenous rights holders and others.
