The B.C. Teachers’ Federation and their employer will sit down for exploratory talks today to discuss the union’s call for mediation and how to move forward.
The BCTF called for mediator Vince Ready to get involved in the dispute, but Ready said he is “too busy.”
Although negotiators for the employer initially supported the idea of mediation, Premier Christy Clark said on the weekend that she thought the two sides were too far apart for a “credible” mediator to get involved.
The government and BCTF have spent 16 months trying unsuccessfully to sign a new collective agreement.
Teachers began rotating strikes last month and escalated action to a provincewide shutdown of schools last week.
