VANCOUVER - Teachers in B.C. have won a significant battle with their employer as job action by the BC Teachers' Federation heads into its fourth month.
B.C. Labour Relations Board adjudicator Michael Fleming has rejected an application from the Public School Employers Association that would have forced teachers to prepare and distribute report cards.
In his ruling, Fleming dismisses the association's claim that teachers are not providing sufficient feedback to make up for a lack of report cards.
He finds that, before the strike began, both sides agreed report cards could be considered a non-essential duty and he says there's nothing to suggest circumstances have changed.
Fleming has also tossed out the employer's demand that teachers hand over 15 per cent of their salary and benefits each month to reimburse the association for duties union members are refusing to complete.
The five-year contract covering B.C.'s 41,000 public school teachers expired in June and, although talks continue, Education Minister George Abbott has said only minimal progress has been made toward a new deal.
