By Lisa Johnson and Jack Farrell
The head of Alberta’s teachers union says they will abide by a back-to-work order and will not engage in illegal actions such as work-to-rule.
Jason Schilling says work-to-rule would lead to punishing fines, but he is urging his colleagues to rethink going the extra mile when it comes to their own time at school.
“They need to evaluate, and re-evaluate, how they’re spending their voluntary time at school,” Schilling told a news conference Tuesday. “For instance, I used to coach cross-country (running) and direct the drama play. Maybe I’m not going to direct the drama play next year.
“You take my rights away? Then I’m going to re-evaluate the voluntary nature of my job.”
His comments came after Premier Danielle Smith’s government introduced and passed through the house a bill ordering the 51,000 teachers to be back on the job Wednesday.
The move ends a three-week strike over wages and working conditions that left more than 740,000 students out of class in the largest walkout in Alberta history.
The bill uses the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to shield the legislation from any court challenge on violating teachers’ constitutional rights to association.
The bill includes steep fines for non-compliance: up to $500 a day for individuals and up to $500,000 a day for the union.
Schilling says while the teachers association is still contemplating a court challenge, he declined to say what that might look like. “We’ll have to leave it up to the experts who we work with in terms of our lawyers about how we move forward with that,” he said.
The core dispute with teachers centred around teacher demands to deliver tangible fixes to address overcrowded classrooms and faltering supports for students with special needs.
Smith’s government has promised to hire 3,000 more teachers and address class sizes and complexities with a panel.
Schilling said they expect to be full partners in that process. “This government needs to clearly articulate a plan to make it more conducive to the level of teaching and learning that Alberta students and teachers deserve,” he said.
“We are tired simply of being invited to be participants in government committees and action groups.
“We want to partners rather than props.”
Across the province, schools and school boards worked Tuesday to get students ready to return to class on a day’s notice.
The Edmonton Public School Board, in a letter, says it expects classes and bus service to be running as usual when classes resume Wednesday, but added it will have more information later on school fees and January diploma exams.
“Our focus now is on a transition back to full-time learning and ensuring that student routines are re-established as quickly as possible,” said Edmonton Public Schools superintendent Ron Thompson in the letter to parents and guardians.
Other school boards also said the plan is to be up and running, but with some delays and changes.
Edmonton Catholic Schools said any professional development day scheduled between Wednesday and Nov. 17 will be postponed.
In Calgary, the city’s Board of Education said in an online update that buses will be running but students and parents should be prepared for possible delays, and students should not be left alone at bus stops.
The board also said extracurricular activities like sports events and field trips may be delayed, rescheduled or cancelled.
“We can expect it will take some time for a full return to normal operations,” said the board.
The Calgary Catholic School District said all athletic events are cancelled up to Friday, with revised schedules coming. It said all scheduled breaks and teacher professional days remain in place.
At the legislature, politicians resumed the fall sitting after staying up until 2 a.m. Tuesday to pass the back-to-work bill by putting one-hour limits on debate at each stage.
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides reiterated he was disappointed the strike came to this conclusion, but said the priority is the well-being of students and preventing the negative consequences of the strike, including academic disruption.
He said his ministry has provided school boards with direction to ensure they can re-open successfully. “We’ve indicated that we’re available to provide any additional support that they may need,” he said.
When it comes to extending hours or school days to make up for lost time, he said the province won’t be instituting requirements but will allow school divisions to “figure out what works best.”
