By Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
November 17, 2009 3:02 AM
VANCOUVER — A few teachers recently refused to work in British Columbia public schools because they said the prevalence of H1N1 illness among students had created an unsafe workplace.
The first reports were filed late last month by pregnant teachers in Victoria who walked away from their classrooms. Another report was filed this month by a Prince George teacher.
By law, employees have a right to refuse work if there is a reasonable cause to believe it poses a health or safety hazard.
The Victoria teachers' claims of unsafe work prompted an on-site inspection by WorkSafe BC to determine if the schools had implemented a proper "exposure control plan" to minimize the risk of H1N1 infection, Ray Roch, a WorkSafe BC regional director who handles H1N1 issues, explained in an interview Monday.
With a proper exposure control plan, the H1N1 risk for employees likely will be lower than the risk in the general community, he added. Such plans should include daily efforts to identify and isolate students who have coughs and fevers, as well as those whose immediate family members are ill.
The inspectors in Victoria also reviewed materials submitted by the teachers' union, but concluded that the schools did not pose an undue hazard. In fact, Roch said that as of Monday, inspections had not identified a single work site in any sector that was hazardous due to the virus.
The B.C. Public School Employers' Association has advised school districts that based on the WorkSafe BC findings, "it will not be deemed to be unsafe for a pregnant teacher to go to work in the classroom where the potential to contract H1N1 exists."
Nevertheless, the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) is urging members who are pregnant or have compromised immune systems to take steps to protect themselves if there is a high rate of infection in their schools. Susan Lambert, the union vice-president, said the first action should be a request for re-assignment to reduce exposure to the virus.
If that's refused, the union advises them to refuse to work, Lambert said. But only at schools where there is an outbreak.
Anne Guthrie Warman, president of the Vancouver Secondary Teachers' Association, suggested teachers should not be discouraged from making a claim because of the recent WorkSafe BC rulings. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, she noted.
It hasn't been a problem in Vancouver, she noted, because the district is accommodating requests for re-assignment.
Scott McCloy, a WorkSafe BC spokesman, said the organization understands that pregnant women are worried about H1N1. "There's an emotional response and a rational response," he said, but the latter suggests the risk in schools is not as great as it is elsewhere in the community.
Vancouver teachers, meanwhile, are questioning the decision to make students a priority for vaccination, but not their teachers. "Teachers who work alongside students all day . . . are most vulnerable currently when there is an outbreak," she said in an e-mail.
Vaccination will be available in specific Vancouver schools over the next four weeks
