Teachers have voted in favour of a full-scale strike, but no strike notice has been served yet. The next one-day strike in this district is Friday, June 13.
As expected, teachers voted in favour of a full-scale strike in BC. But no strike notice has been served yet.
A total of 28,809 teachers voted yes in a province-wide vote conducted June 9–10. In all, 33,387 teachers cast ballots, with 86 per cent voting yes.
BC Teachers’ Federation president Jim Iker said they are prepared to fully withdraw services and go on a full strike, but that decision has not yet been made. Rotating one-day strikes will continue throughout the province this week.
In School District 53, teachers will strike this Friday, June 13, so parents are reminded to keep their children home on that day.
“At this point, the BCTF has not served notice, but we will do so if necessary,” Iker said. “If we make the decision to escalate, we will provide three working days (72 hours) notice. That means there are still several days left that both sides can hunker down, reach a settlement, avoid a full-scale strike, and end the government’s lockout.”
Iker said it’s time for the BC Liberals to reinvest in public education and bring BC up to the national average in funding.
Iker thanked parents for understanding that this fight is about quality education for students and fairness for teachers. He encouraged people to contact their local MLAs and demand change.
“There is no reason why a province as rich as BC should be second last when it comes to funding education.”
Iker stressed that the BC Teachers’ Federation is prepared to make the necessary moves at the bargaining table that will bring the two sides together. But he said the federation cannot be expected to move alone.
“This government still has a proposal on the table that would wipe out class size and composition guarantees that the BC Supreme Court has twice ruled were illegally stripped from collective agreements,” Iker said. “The government is also entrenched on a salary demand that would see teachers effectively take two more years of zeros, which would make it four in a row. That’s unfair and unreasonable.”
Education Minister Peter Fassbender isn’t surprised with the vote results, but said no one should interpret this as any kind of enthusiasm on the part of teachers to shut down schools.
“I know teachers would prefer to be in their classrooms and I know that students and parents would rather finish this school year on a positive note.”
Fassbender said the earliest a full strike could begin is next Monday, June 16.
The minister said it took five days of hard bargaining to get a framework agreement with school support staff. “They did not need to strike to get a fair deal and neither do teachers.”
Fassbender said the BCTF needs to come to the table with realistic expectations. He reiterated that teachers deserve a raise, but said their total compensation demands are about four times more than other recent settlements.
The minister said teachers have been offered a fair wage increase, plus a special $1,200 signing bonus if an agreement is reached before June 30.
In the meantime, parents and students are worried about how a full-scale strike would affect final exams and graduation ceremonies.
But the ministry says every effort is being made to ensure a strike does not disadvantage students.
Secondary schools will be open for the purpose of administering exams, and efforts will be made for provincial exams to be marked. And final course marks will be conveyed to students and parents in a timely manner, according to the ministry.
It appears graduation ceremonies will continue with the help of school administrators, students and parents.
