Teachers in BC plan to withdraw all services in a full strike starting Tuesday, June 17 (if a settlement isn’t reached this weekend).
If a deal isn’t reached this weekend, BC teachers will begin a full walkout on Tuesday, June 17.
That’s the word from the BC Teachers’ Federation following an 86 per cent “yes” vote earlier this week.
The federation served strike notice today (June 12).
“This week’s vote made it clear that BC teachers care deeply about the state of public education and their ability to meet the needs of all their students,” said president Jim Iker.
“After 12 years of deep cuts, 3,500 teaching positions lost, and 200 schools closed, we are urging this government to reinvest in public education,” he continued. “Teachers are doing their utmost in an underfunded and under-resourced system, but students are not getting the support or one-on-one time they need.”
Iker said there is still time to reach a settlement and avoid the strike if the government comes to the table with new funding.
Iker said job action will be extended to Monday, June 16, with all teachers participating in study sessions province-wide. Schools will not be picketed, but teachers will not be on site.
Rotating strikes will continue this week, with Friday, June 13 being a non-instructional day in School District 53.
Teachers remain locked out by their employer during recess, lunch, and 45 minutes before and after school, preventing them from doing their regular work during lockout hours.
To get a fair deal and avert a full-scale strike, BC teachers are looking for improvements to class size, class composition, and staffing levels for specialist teachers to increase one-on-one time for students, Iker said.
The settlement must also include a fair wage increase for teachers, he pointed out.
