Teachers start job action Wednesday, April 23.
Jim Iker, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation made the announcement Thursday afternoon.
The initial action will be administrative only.
Teachers will continue to instruct students, participate in extracurricular activities, write report cards and communicate with parents.
But teachers won't supervise students before and after school and during lunch and recess. Teachers will limit meetings with administrators only to health and safety meetings and they won't provide or receive routine printed, written or electronic communication to or from administrators. They are not to be at school more than an hour before or after class times, except for prearranged voluntary activities.
Iker said he wouldn't speculate how long this stage of strike action would last. He said it would depend on progress at the bargaining table.
But he added teachers hope to reach a deal with the province before the end of June.
"We want the stability," he said. "We want the assurances of small class sizes for our students in September, minimum levels of specialist teachers and class composition guarantees."
Teacher salaries are another contested issue.
If bargaining doesn't progress to the BCTF's satisfaction, rotating strikes, where schools would be closed one day per week, would be next.
"We will give government some more time, to avoid school closures," Iker said.
After more than a year of negotiations, 89 per cent of B.C. teachers voted last month in favour of potential job action. Iker said in the six weeks since that vote, the government and emloyers have barely shifted their positions.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender countered in a press conference and media release Thursday afternoon that the BCTF's position also has moved little.
More next week as the story develops...
