VICTORIA - British Columbia's finance minister says the government will seek an injunction against striking teachers for mounting what he says are illegal picket lines outside government buildings in Victoria.
"We will be seeking penalties at the Labour Relations Board," Kevin Falcon said Tuesday, adding he understands teachers want to "blow off some steam" and respects their right to protest.
"We are encouraging all staff to come to work as normal," Falcon said.
"Managers are available to help staff enter the building if they feel intimidated by these disruptive tactics," he said on the second day of the teachers' three-day strike.
Falcon made the comments as teachers and union supporters were massing in downtown Victoria in preparation for a protest march to the legislature.
"'Hey, hey, ho, ho, Bill 22 has got to go,"' they chanted as the protest started.
The teacher pickets appeared to be supported by the BC Federation of Labour and the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union.
Workers arriving at government buildings for work Tuesday morning were handed leaflets saying they have the right under their collective agreements to not cross a picket line.
The leaflets stated it's important for all workers to stand together and support teachers in opposing Bill 22, the government's cooling off contract legislation currently being debated in the legislature.
The leaflets also advise union workers who refuse to cross the picket lines to report to a local conference centre to register for strike pay.
Grade 7 teacher Laura Maragh said most government workers supported her as she carried a hand-written picket sign that labelled Bill 22 as contract stripping.
Maragh and about a dozen other people -- two of them teachers -- carried picket signs outside a government building adjacent to the B.C. legislature.
"I feel very supported when someone does not cross a picket line and they tell us they are going to join us at the rally and that they have children and they totally understand what's going on," she said.
