The B.C. Labour Relations Board (BCLRB) has upheld the right of teachers to not issue report cards during their current job action and that has parents concerned.
Without report cards, post-secondary schools will have no formal way of checking to see if Grade 12 students meet entrance requirements, said Don Sabo, chair of the District 57 Parent Advisory Council.
"We didn't expect this ruling at all and I think parents in the district are worried about students in Grade 12," said Sabo. "They need those marks not just to get into university but also for applying for bursaries and scholarships. A lot of them are determined by marks and how well you do in Grades 11 and 12 and there's going to be an impact there.
"The parents are getting tired of this. We haven't had too many complaints as far as the job action is concerned and teachers are doing a great job of keeping the impacts to our schools at a minimum, but we are concerned. It's time that both parties get together and bargain in good faith to end this job action. We can't have a whole year where there's no report cards, and this is the halfway mark."
Prince George District Teachers Association president Matt Pearce said teachers will provide marks for Grade 12 students once they complete their courses.
Michael Fleming, the BCLRB's associate chair of adjudication, ruled on Tuesday that teachers and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) had previously agreed report card writing is not an essential service to be provided by teachers. Fleming also refuted the BCPSEA claim that teachers were refusing to inform parents by methods other than report cards about student marks.
The BCLRB also dismissed the BCPSEA's attempt to fine teachers 15 per cent of their gross salaries and benefits as punishment for the decision of teachers to withhold nonessential duties such as student supervision and meetings with administration.
"They [teachers] are not performing certain nonessential duties but there is no assertion teachers are working only 85 per cent of their scheduled time while receiving 100 per cent pay," Fleming said in the report. "Rather, the assertion is they are working their regular hours teaching but not performing nonessential duties."
The labour board ruling was not a surprise to Pearce, who was pleased the case did not reach the hearing stage.
Although the formal report card process has been interrupted, Pearce says teachers are keeping parents informed on student progress through e-mails, phone calls and personal meetings.
"The communication between teachers and parents has never been stronger," Pearce said.
"The communications between our employer and teachers have probably never been weaker. Parents are hearing what they need to hear, kids absolutely know how they're doing, and our employer has little idea of that."
The province has maintained its "net-zero" stance at the bargaining table, which means there will be no new money available to reach a collective agreement after nine months of negotiations.
"In fact, our employers' association has put forth a series of contract-stripping proposals that would take our contract back 30 years," said Pearce.
"I think it's accurate to say the two sides have never been further apart. We've been working under an illegal contract for going on 10 years and we're very patient people and if we need to stay in job action for a long time, we're prepared to do that."
