Teri Mooring expresses concerns about district-by-district vaccine mandate rather than B.C.-wide policy

The adhering to e mail from BCTF President Teri Mooring was despatched to all BCTF customers on Oct 7, 2021. It is also out there on the BCTF website here.

Expensive colleagues,

In August, the BCTF Govt Committee mentioned the concern of vaccine mandates and took the posture that the Federation would not oppose a mandate for K–12 workers as long as privateness rights were being shielded and users who required health-related exemptions have been accommodated. Because then, significantly has transformed on the subject of vaccine mandates.

Quite a few businesses, like the federal government, have mandated vaccines for their workers. This 7 days, the BC govt introduced that they are mandating vaccines for men and women used by the province. That mandate will include about 30,000 workers who are typically users of the BC Standard Employees’ Union (BCGEU). It is similar to the vaccine mandates implemented in overall health care configurations for several other professions. Each the BCGEU and CUPE have publicly stated that they, like the BCTF, do not oppose vaccine mandates. However, the unions are not in regulate around whether or not vaccine mandates are implemented—that is up to businesses, govt, and the Provincial Wellbeing Officer.

It has come to be obvious to us that a COVID-19 vaccine mandate is possible to come to the community education and learning process. To reply to this promptly shifting ground, the BCTF Government Committee satisfied all over again very last night time, reviewed the issues, and took the place that the Federation supports provincial required vaccines in the K–12 technique for faculty workers and volunteers.

This is about preserving absolutely everyone safe—you, your household, your coworkers, and your learners. We all require to do anything we can to protect each other. Remember to get vaccinated.

We do not know what a mandate could glimpse like or how it would be applied, but it appears to be obvious that it is coming. If you have not been vaccinated, remember to get actions now to start out that process. Like vaccine mandates in other sectors, there could be implications. Any exemptions will most likely be exceptionally confined.

At this stage, I am incredibly concerned that a opportunity vaccine mandate could be applied district-by-district, employer-by-employer. Which is the wrong solution. Any vaccine mandate would want to be provincially applied and finished equitably. We cannot have unequal procedure of workers in the general public instruction method.

To day, the province’s General public Wellbeing Officer has not issued a public well being order to pressure districts to mandate vaccines. In the absence of this sort of an purchase, the BCTF is setting up to enter into conversations with the BC General public University Employers’ Association and the Ministry of Education and learning to guarantee that, must a provincial mandate be imposed, a truthful course of action be put in put to safeguard the rights of all academics that we can enforce by means of regular labour relations methods, such as grievances.

The BCTF and our locals will do the job to guard members’ rights, like your proper to privateness and a ideal to an accommodation for individuals with reputable exemptions. We will perform with BCPSEA to arrive at an settlement to make sure any process used to customers who refuse to get a vaccine with out an exemption are dealt with quite.

On the other hand, to be apparent, we don’t know what the effects would be and neither does your community union. If you are not vaccinated and do not have a authentic exemption, you should really start setting up now to get the vaccine. It could likely affect your pay, your benefits, and even your pension. We just really do not know at this point and we may possibly be minimal in what we can do to enable you.

The very best class of motion for you is to get the vaccine. They are safe, productive, and will help all of us shift on from this pandemic.

At this stage there is no vaccine mandate that applies to BCTF customers, nor have any Boards of Schooling instituted vaccine mandates, but things are altering immediately during this pandemic.

We will continue on to update you each phase of the way, but please know that the BCTF will not be standing from a mandate. It’s the suitable thing to do at this stage in the pandemic.

Thank you and take treatment,

 

Teri Mooring

President