B.C. labour board recommends co-ordinator to smooth communication between ministry and teachers

A co-ordinator should be appointed to improve communication between teachers and B.C.'s Ministry of Education over COVID-19 guidelines, the Labour Relations Board has recommended. 

The B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) launched an application to the board in September due to frustrations with the ministry's COVID-19 school restart plan. The union said the plan contained numerous problems in terms of communication, process, and health and safety.

In its recommendations, the Labour Relations Board (LRB) says the Ministry of Education's COVID-19 Steering Committee should take on a bigger role, providing information on changing guidelines, and give opportunities to relevant stakeholders to provide input.

The steering committee includes teachers, parents, support staff, Indigenous rights holders and others.

It recommends appointing a co-ordinator who will better communicate with school districts on changed guidelines and review school district plans for consistency. This person will work closely with WorkSafeBC, the Ministry of Health and health authorities to provide clarity and consistency.

The LRB has also committed to providing neutral parties by Nov. 16 to problem-solve issues with the implementation of health and safety measures in an efficient way. Their availability will include evenings and weekends if necessary.

BCTF president Teri Mooring said the recommendations align with what the union was seeking. 

"They entrench the role of the committee, which is really positive," Mooring said on CBC's On The Coast. "There's been nothing in writing about it."

Previously, while the union and other groups would be able to communicate with the committee, there was no mechanism for the committee to communicate out to the field.

Mooring also said the co-ordinator role will help with enforcement. 

"There isn't any person that checks over the district's safety plans. There's no one who ensures that changes are made ... [so] that's a really proactive and positive role that's sorely needed that's not in place right now," she said. 

No broader mask mandate

The LRB did not address all of BCTF's concerns, most notably the union's desire for a broader mask policy. 

Currently in B.C. schools, masks are only required for staff, and middle and secondary students in high-traffic areas — like buses and common areas — or anytime they are outside of their cohort where physical distance cannot be maintained.

The BCTF supports a stronger mask mandate from the government to add to the layers of protection in the classroom, noting that some districts and schools in the province already have full mask policies because the staff, a joint health and safety committee, or an administrator made it happen.

Jennifer Heighton, an elementary school teacher in Burnaby, is one of the teachers hoping for a mandatory mask mandate.

"My class has been wonderful at wearing their masks regularly, but I do know there are other classrooms where it is harder to get the students to wear their masks," Heighton said. 

"I think making it mandatory puts the message out there to everybody in the community that, 'hey, this is what we're doing. This is the new normal for the next while.' ... It would go a long way to getting that compliance that is needed to reduce transmission."