Teachers will strike summer school

NEWS/ SCHOOLS — Teachers will strike summer school if a contract deal isn’t reached by June 30, B.C. Teachers Federation president Jim Iker today.

That move was called “unfortunate” by Education Minister Peter Fassbender, who said it will impact thousands of students.

Iker said teachers will set up picket lines at worksites where summer school is located.

He again blasted the government for what he called “a lack of commitment” to adequately fund improvements to class size, class composition and staffing levels for specialist teachers.

The BCTF wants a five-year contract with an eight per cent salary hike plus a signing bonus, no concessions, and new funds to address class sizes and working conditions.

“If the government does not come with new funding to reach a fair settlement by June 30, teachers are prepared to extend the strike into summer and picket out summer school,” said Iker.

“This was not a decision we made lightly, but we cannot allow government to continue to underfund B.C.’s education system.”

After several days without talking, BCTF and the B.C. Public Employers Association bargainers were to meet today.

Fassbender said that while BCPSEA has an application before the Labour Relations Board to deem some aspects of summer school an essential service “this would only partially mitigate the impacts from the BCTF’s strike.

“Apart from this unfortunate development, we heard nothing new from the BCTF leadership.

“The BCTF continues to demand wages and benefits that are more than double what other public sector workers have received. On top of that, they are striking for hundreds of millions more each year in other contract demands.

“We have been very clear — and very consistent — in our view that mediation will only succeed if the BCTF recognizes that the best possible deal for their members is one that falls squarely within the same affordability zone as all the other public sector agreements that have been reached to date.”

Fassbender warned that mediation “will not split the difference” between what’s been offered and what teachers are demanding.