Uncertainty for families while B.C. teachers hold off giving strike notice

VANCOUVER – Families across B.C. are waiting to hear if teachers will launch a full-scale strike with only two weeks before the end of the school year.

The teachers’ union now says Tuesday would be the earliest date that teachers will walk off the job, leaving families to deal with child-care arrangements and the cancellation of end-of-year events at school.

The B.C. Teachers’ Federation must give three days notice before going on strike, but had not done so by Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday night, the BCTF announced teachers had voted 86 per cent in favour of a walkout to back contract demands but said the union was still open to negotiations before making that move.

Talks between the union and the government’s bargaining agent were not scheduled for Wednesday but each side has said they’d like a deal by the end of June.

The government has filed an application with the Labour Relations Board to make the marking of exams an essential service, but a hearing date has not been set.

(The Canadian Press, CKNW)