In an effort to ramp up pressure and make progress at the bargaining table, BC teachers are stepping up job action.
BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) president Jim Iker told reporters at a press conference April 17, that teachers will begin job action Wednesday, April 23, after having served 72 hours’ strike notice. He added that the action could escalate into rotating strikes unless the government comes to the bargaining table ready to negotiate.
The first stage of job action will be restricted to a teacher withdrawal of administrative service.
In a statement issued by the BCTF, the teachers will not:
• Undertake any mandated supervision of students outside regularly scheduled classes, except as set out by an essential services order.
• Attend any meetings with management other than meetings of the worksite Joint Health and Safety Committee.
• Provide principals or administrators with any routine printed, written, or electronic communication.
• Receive any printed, written or electronic communication from an administrator.
• Be at a worksite prior to one hour before commencement of instructional time and one hour after the end of instructional time, other than pre-arranged voluntary activities.
Iker said the teachers are not prepared to accept a 10-year term for a new collective agreement and other conditions the government is unwilling to take off the table.
A majority of teachers voted to take job action over three days at the start of April, but a full strike is not expected anytime soon.
In response to the BCTF announcement, Peter Fassbender, minister of education, said he was “disappointed, but not surprised.
“Over the past few weeks, it appears the BCTF has been more focused on implementing its strike plan than bargaining at the table,” stated Fassbender in a media release.
In response, the government would increase pressure on the union, “in an appropriate and principled manner,” he said.
“This time around, with the BCTF also feeling pressure to reach an agreement, we hope both sides will be equally motivated to find solutions at the table, rather than letting the BCTF’s strike drift on indefinitely.”
