The recent lock-out of Calgary teachers by the Catholic School Board in that city marks a serious decline in public ethics. The School Board decided to punish teachers at the expense of children’s education. Consider that this Board – all of whose members were elected to protect public education - deprived their students of a day’s education in order to ‘punish’ teachers.

This is the first time in Alberta – and perhaps in Canada – that teachers were locked-out during the school year over a contract dispute. It is outrageous that a School Board, who are generally the first in line demanding that governments legislate teachers back to work during legal strikes, should feel free to adopt the same tactic in some petty form of childish temper.

The teachings of the Catholic Church on labour relations are admirable and clear. The Church teaches about the value of productive labour, the progressive role of trade unions, and the absolute need to treat workers as people – not as commodities.

Why then did this School Board – each member of which is purportedly Catholic – feel so free to flout those values? Is there no requirement for a Catholic official to actually act like a Catholic?

The Board’s insistence that teachers work unpaid mandatory extra hours coaching teams, running band practices, and supervising other extra-curricular activities is abhorrent. Its one things for teachers to volunteer that time. That is their decision and thousands of teachers make our kids lives better every school day because they choose to help. They deserve the heartfelt thanks of both the School Boards and the parents for their wonderful, selfless dedication – not some small-minded directive that orders them to donate their time, thereby turning a labour of love into a chore.

To order teachers to provide unpaid labour is, I believe, illegal. It constitutes a form of servitude that is unacceptable in modern society – and directly contradicts Catholic teachings on labour.

Consider that teachers have already been robbed of in-school preparation and marking time over the past few years. Consider that every teacher now works unpaid overtime every weekday and every weekend to make up for that loss.

The conclusion every reasonable person must make is that the teachers were well within their rights to take the actions they did – but that the Board was absolutely and unforgivably wrong.