TEACHERS WORRIED
Asking about their rights in COVID era
REGINA Some Saskatchewan teachers are pressing for collective action to refuse working under what they fear are inadequate measures to prevent COVID -19 transmission in the classroom.
“Yes, we’re hearing concerns, and some members encouraging collective mobilization,” said Pat Maze, president of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF).
He said that goes beyond calls to accommodate employees with specific health risks. He called it “a growing movement of teachers” who are asking questions about their rights and how to use them.
But government spokesperson Paula Steckler said additional measures are on the way to ensure no teacher is asked to perform “unusually dangerous” work, the term that governs refusal in the Saskatchewan Employment Act. Such an announcement is expected “in the days ahead,” she said.
Teachers have argued that physical distancing is impossible in already crowded classrooms as COVID-19 continues to spread in Saskatchewan. There were 27 new cases reported Thursday.
Twenty-two were in so-called “communal living settings.” The Ministry of Health connected that to “aggressive testing and contact tracing” which “continues to find new cases” in some Hutterite communities.
As of Thursday, there were 166 active cases in Saskatchewan.
Maze was clear that the STF as a whole is not considering job action at this point. He noted that COVID-19 counts are different from one region of the province to the next. He explained that work refusal is generally a matter individuals raise with their supervisors or occupational health and safety committees within their divisions.
He said a provincewide approach “isn’t really reasonable at this point” and the federation “doesn’t really have jurisdiction to push that.”
But he said the STF is consulting with its in-house legal counsel, both about the rights of its members and the legalities of a collective refusal. He said it’s easy for teachers to “rattle their sabres” and threaten to strike, but actually following through could be far more complicated.
“It could be seen as offside — an unfair labour practice,” Maze said.
The Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety said in a statement that workers don’t have grounds to refuse their duties “if steps have been followed and the appropriate safety processes and procedures are in place.” Steckler asserted that the government and school divisions are taking all the necessary steps to ensure a safe work environment.
Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, has played a role in crafting backto-school guidelines and has defended them publicly. Maze acknowledged that the word of the province’s top doctor would go a long way in deciding what is or is not unsafe.
But he argued that Shahab’s guidance has been stricter for other sectors. Barbershops and restaurants have mandatory masks sector-wide, for example, while teachers are left facing a patchwork of masking policies depending on their school division. Maze called it a double standard.
Even if collective action proves impossible, Maze said the government should listen to the signal teachers are sending by raising the prospect. “It goes miles to showing how serious and concerned teachers are,” he said.
Meanwhile, NDP Leader Ryan Meili used a Thursday news conference to accuse Education Minister Gord Wyant of “gaslighting ” school divisions on funding for COVID -19 preparations. That term is normally used to refer to a form of emotional abuse that makes victims question their sense of reality.
Wyant has pointed to a $200-million contingency fund in the provincial budget, together with pre-existing savings, to explain why the government is not dedicating specific funding for COVID-19 preparations in schools. He did so again this week on John Gormley’s radio show, saying no school divisions have come asking for that money so far.
Yet Meili said the government has never explained to school divisions that “there was any process by which they could apply for added funding.”
Terry Lazarou, a spokesman for Regina Public Schools, confirmed to the Leader-post that he is unaware of any process to access the contingency fund.
When asked, the government did not explain the process. Jim Billington, press secretary to Premier Scott Moe, said the government remains committed to working with school divisions on costs “as they face unforeseen pressures once the school year commences.”
“The contingency fund remains an option,” he said.
Meili did not directly answer questions about whether the government should delay sending kids back to school, saying he simply wants a better plan. If a delay proves necessary, he said, it will be the government’s fault.
He still foresees sending his own nine-year-old son to school to start Grade 4. Meili said he was pleased to hear that his son’s school division will require masking, though he believes the government should be setting those standards provincewide.
“Like any other parent, we’re frustrated that the school divisions are not getting more support and more clear direction,” he said.
He rejected the notion that his family’s own plans are a vote of confidence in the safety of the system.
“No, I don’t think the plans are where they should be,” Meili responded. “I think we should have smaller class sizes. I think we should have more resources. But like every other parent, we’re going to navigate this mess as best we can.”