The head of the B.C. teachers union says all options are still on the table in response to Bill 22 including illegal job action even though it would lead to hefty fines under the new law. A vote on an illegal strike could come late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.
During a break from the B.C. Teachers Federations annual general meeting Monday afternoon, Susan Lambert said 700 attending delegates are discussing options, which vary from teachers withdrawing their volunteer support of extracurricular activities to a full-scale province wide walkout. The AGM is closed to media.
However, under the provinces Bill 22 such a job action would cost the BCTF over $1 million per day on top of a maximum of $475 per teacher daily. Despite this devastating financial burden, Lambert said she is willing to back the illegal job action.
If the 41,000 members of the B.C. Teachers Federation decide that we are going to take the action that will incur fines, well then I will be incurring fines, I suppose, Lambert told reporters outside the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Art Gallery while hail poured from the skies.
Lambert said the BCTF, which has reportedly drained its collective bargaining agreement fund to $5 million from $11 million in January, wouldnt be able to afford the illegal job action, but federation leaders are debating on whether to rack up the fines anyway.
Thats the moral choice thats facing teachers across the province, she said. Either you stand up to an unjust law and knowingly take the risk or you find other ways of resisting that unjust law.
Earlier, it was reported BCTF delegates voted in favour of increasing membership fees in order to raise money for their battle against the back-to-work legislation. In order to replenish the unions funds, the meeting approved an increase to 0.2 per cent of teachers salaries.
When asked if teachers would be prepared to break the law, Lambert said: I think that what were seeing is a law thats prepared to break us so we are deciding what our actions will be and that decision will be made in committee by the meeting.
Lambert said teachers across the province are outraged with this bill, which is not simply about collective bargaining. That anger spilled out on to the streets with a rally held downtown during the break of the annual general meeting.
There will be an action plan, said George Serra, the president of the Maple Ridge teachers association. Teachers know they have to respond. We cant just lie down to this. It just depends on what that will look like.
The BCTF is expected to outline its next move around midnight Tuesday or early Wednesday morning.
Education Minister George Abbott is on a trip to China on provincial business and Lambert said some B.C. teachers will also make the trip to voice their frustrations.
I know that there are teachers over there and they are going to use the opportunity to tell him what they think about this outrageous legislation.
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Twitter: @jaredgnam
