Schools could be closed starting June 16 if teachers vote in favour of a full-scale strike.
B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Jim Iker announced Wednesday that a vote on escalating job action will be held June 9 and 10.
Rotating strikes are set to continue across the province next week. The schedule for closures in Vancouver was to be released after the Courier’s print deadline.
Vancouver School Board chairperson Patti Bacchus wasn’t sure what a full-scale strike would mean for exams and report cards. She said classes for high school students end June 13 and were to be followed by exams.
A strike could also hurt summer school, which typically sees 15,000 students enrolled in Vancouver, some of them international students.
The Labour Relations Board ruled Wednesday afternoon that the government’s 10 per cent pay cut for teachers was legal. The government cut hours, duties and pay for teachers starting May 26 in response to teachers’ initial job action.
Iker said the BCTF decided Tuesday night to take a vote on escalating job action.
The teachers’ union reduced its salary proposal Tuesday from 13.7 to 15 per cent over four years to 12.5 to 14 per cent, depending on cost of living increases. The BCTF says the B.C. Public School Employer’s Association has yet to respond in kind.
The Ministry of Education and BCPSEA maintain teachers deserve a raise but their demands are remain approximately four times higher than what other public sector workers have negotiated.
Iker said BCPSEA’s chief negotiator said the government won’t respond to a full-scale strike by legislating teachers back to work.
Up to 40 of Vancouver Technical secondary’s 1,540 students walked out of the East Broadway school Wednesday morning as part of the B.C. Student Walkout for Students.
“We, the students, are tired of being stuck in the middle of their labour disputes and would like to see both sides come together and reach an agreement sooner rather than later,” co-organizer Victoria Baker wrote on the Facebook page about the walkout.
The student action appears to have been in vain.
“It’s a terrible way to end the school year,” Bacchus said.
The BCPSEA stated it’s prepared to negotiate all summer if an agreement can’t be reached by the end of June.
