Local teachers are shown here waving placards during a previous strike in School District 53.
British Columbia teachers have voted overwhelmingly (89 per cent) to support strike action, but there are no imminent plans to close schools.
“Only if talks break down at the bargaining table will any job action take place,” said Sylvia Slater, president of the South Okanagan Similkameen Teachers’ Union.
Slater reacted to last week’s vote that saw 26,051 teachers express their desire to strike.
Slater said their goal remains the same. “We want a fair deal for teachers and better supports for students which is why we want to discuss class size and composition and specialist teacher ratios.”
School District 53 chair Marieze Tarr said she is still hopeful that a strike will be avoided with the help of bargaining at the negotiating table.
Tarr noted the district has to receive 72-hour strike notice before any action is taken.
“A strike notice is often used as leverage at the bargaining table, so here is hoping that it will be resolved through negotiations and that there will be no interruption or negative impacts on the classroom.”
BC Teachers’ Federation president Jim Iker said a strike vote is a normal part of labour relations and helps apply pressure to both parties during negotiations.
Iker said any initial job action will be administrative in nature and have no impact on student learning. He confirmed that any initial action will not include school closures or affect report cards or extracurricular activities.
Iker said if talks stall or the government does not move on key areas, job action could escalate to rotating strikes.
“There will be no full-scale walkout as a result of this vote. Such action would require another province-wide vote of the BCTF membership.”
