More rotating one-day strikes spread around B.C.’s 60 school districts are planned for next week, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation has confirmed.
Next week’s strike days will be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The decision came as teachers prepared for Thursday’s fourth and final day of rotating strikes this week. The Gulf Islands school district is among those facing pickets on Thursday.
The union issued this schedule of closings for next week at Island school districts:
• On Monday, schools in Saanich, Nanaimo and Alberni school districts are scheduled to be behind picket lines.
• Tuesday, schools in Cowichan Valley, Gulf Islands and Comox school districts will be affected.
• On Thursday, schools in Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island West, Qualicum and Powell River school districts will be closed.
• On Friday, it will be schools in Sooke, Campbell River and Vancouver Island North school districts.
The BCTF has said that its decision on whether to continue with rotating strikes will depend on whether progress is made in bargaining. The BCTF and the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association met for contract talks from Monday to Wednesday this week.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender was not happy with news of more strike activity.
“I’m profoundly disappointed that while we’re still at the table, with all of the talk that’s been going on, that children and parents and communities are continuing to be held hostage and put in the middle of this dispute,” he said. “It’s unfortunate.”
Fassbender argued that the government has made “significant moves” at the bargaining table without any response from the BCTF. “Basically, we’ve been told, ‘Just give us what we’re asking for and then we can move on.’ I don’t think that is either realistic or affordable.”
A small group of parents rallied at the legislature Wednesday to voice displeasure about what is happening with public education.
Wednesday’s strike action included the Greater Victoria school district — the largest school district in the capital region with about 18,700 students and 47 schools — following previous one-day strikes in the Sooke and Saanich districts.
The B.C. Teachers' Federation and the government's negotiators are scheduled for a hearing at the Labour Relations Board on Thursday over lockout provisions. The union has said up to 150,000 students are out of classes every day that teachers are off the job.
The government is offering a 7.3-per-cent wage increase over six years while teachers want 13.7 per cent over four years, as well as smaller classes and accommodation for students with various learning disabilities by specialist and resource teachers.
On the BCTF website: a news release with details on which days B.C. schools will face a strike
— With The Canadian Press
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B.C. teachers' strike threatens extracurricular activities
Concerns about the fate of extracurricular activities grew Tuesday as a rotating provincewide strike by teachers continued for a second straight day.
With the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association responding by bringing in a partial lockout, representatives from the teachers’ union say members should not take on extracurricular or volunteer duties, due largely to insurance concerns.
However, Education Minister Peter Fassbender has said WorkSafe B.C. coverage for teachers is not compromised.
Saanich Teachers’ Association president Mark Skanks said he has had teachers crying on the phone because they had to cancel events. Among the cancellations in the district has been an outdoor trip for Stelly’s Secondary School students, he said.
Skanks praised parents who have come forward in some cases to make events happen.
“Parents have been great,” Skanks said. “They know [we’re] in an awkward situation and they’re willing to step in and help when they can.”
His basic advice to teachers is to stand down from extracurriculars “until we get come clarity from the Labour Relations Board.”
“It’s important to distinguish that from cancelling extracurriculars, because in a lot of cases what teachers are doing is postponing or perhaps just waiting.”
Lockout-related issues, including a 10 per cent pay cut for teachers, are scheduled to be considered by the Labour Relations Board on Thursday.
Premier Christy Clark said Tuesday she hopes the meeting will jump-start a resolution.
“I hope we could get this settled in 24 hours, 48 hours, if people would decide not to strike and sit down instead and come to an agreement,” Clark said.
She said the two sides must bargain hard to settle their differences because students are put in the middle yet again.
“It’s not fair for families and children to pay the price of a labour dispute between adults.”
The partial lockout also restricts some of teachers’ work time, declaring that they should not be at school either 45 minutes before or after school. Three days of larger-scale lockouts are planned for June.
The series of rotating one-day strikes, which began Monday, are scheduled to conclude Thursday. The Greater Victoria school district is affected Wednesday, and the Gulf Islands on Thursday.
In the Sooke district, where schools were behind picket lines on Monday, many people are upset that a class trip to Oregon for Dunsmuir Middle School students has been cancelled. In a letter to parents, the organizing teacher expressed his deep disappointment, blaming the situation squarely on the lockout.
Extracurriculars are also on the minds of parents from Kelset Elementary, one of the Saanich school district sites behind pickets Tuesday. The district has about 7,200 students and 500 teachers.
“We’re pretty nervous about [extracurriculars],” said Sara Benson, president of the Kelset parent advisory council. “I’m definitely getting questions of that nature from parents.”
One of her three children at Kelset is due to leave on a trip to Camp Thunderbird today, and Benson said parents are taking on some of the duties for the two-night outing. She said she knows of class trips that have proceeded this week at other schools.
As for arranging care for her children during the one-day strike, Benson said she has a job with flexible hours and was able to look after them herself. Still, like elsewhere, parents in the Saanich district were pooling their resources to get through the day, she said.
“I do have friends who are taking care of other friends’ children. There’s definitely a lot of that going on.”
Contract talks between the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and the employers’ group took place Monday and Tuesday, and are set to continue today. — Jeff Bell
With a file from The Canadian Press
What teachers are paid
- A full-time teacher, with a five-year education degree and working in Victoria, Vancouver or Prince George, works 190 nine-hour days a year (including professional-development days) and is paid a maximum of $74,353 annually, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation says.
- The BCTF says the pay scale for such teachers, compared to others at the same level, ranks sixth among provinces.
- The union says it is seeking a wage increase of 10.75 per cent over four years, plus three per cent in cost-of-living adjustments. It says the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association is offering 6.5 per cent over six years — a total that could grow by 0.75 per cent in exchange for contract concessions.
- The employers’ association contends that the BCTF is looking for a total of $646 million in salary and benefit hikes for its 41,000 members, which translates to a 21.5 per cent increase over four years.
