Teachers have vowed to picket summer school if a deal is not reached, the president of the teachers’ union said June 25.
“This was not a decision we made lightly,” said Jim Iker, BC Teachers’ Federation president. “If the government does not come up with new funding to reach a fair settlement by June 30, teachers are prepared to extend the strike into the summer.”
BC Labour Relations Board designated remedial summer school classes for grade 10 through 12 and year round schools as essential services.
School District 47 has cancelled its summer programs as a result of the teachers’ strike.
“It is our intension to offer some kind of summer school for grade 12 students who need to upgrade a course to graduate,” said Jay Yule, superintendent of school for district 47 at June’s board of education meeting.
Teachers started rotating strikes in late May. That job action escalated to a full strike starting June 16. The provincial government and the BCTF are still far apart on the teachers’ demands for higher wages and for class size and composition being included in the bargaining.
The teachers’ union requested mediator Vince Ready’s help bring resolution to the dispute, but he said he was unavailable to help.
Iker said he still is hopeful that a deal can be reached, but the government will need to move on the union’s demands.
In a press conference, Iker laid out the the teachers’ key contract points, which include: a five-year term, an eight per cent salary increase plus signing bonus, no concessions and an annual workload fund.
Education minister Peter Fassbender released a statement after the BCTF press conference saying that the continued strike action is “unfortunate” and “will impact thousands of students and do little to bring the parties closer to an agreement.
“The BCTF continues to demand wages and benefits that are more than double what other public sector workers have received. On top of that, they are striking for hundreds of millions more each year in other contract demands,” said Fassbender. “Mediation will not split the difference between our respective positions. A mediator will not shake loose hundreds of millions of dollars we simply do not have.”
