Teachers asked to ‘voluntarily stand down’
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – In an effort to get negotiations moving, Education Minister Peter Fassbender met with the lead negotiators today and asked teachers to ‘voluntarily stand down and let classes start while the parties are in mediation.’
Fassbender met with B.C. Teachers’ Federation President Jim Iker and B.C. Public School Employers’ Association representative Peter Cameron Wednesday in hopes of making sure students can return to school on Tuesday.
“To make that happen both sides need to focus on the issues that can be mediated and settled immediately and set aside some matter that will be dealt with by the courts,” Fassbender said. “I proposed three specific steps to reach a settlement and clear the way for students to go back to school on schedule.”
He asked them to set aside potential grievances stemming from the court decision as the appeals process takes place, urged them to enter mediation as soon as possible with a focus on wages and class size and composition.
“It remains up to (Vince Ready) to decide when to start full mediation,” he said. “As soon as (Ready) indicates mediation should commence, we are ready. In fact, we are ready now.”
He then asked for strike and lockout activities to be suspended for two weeks when mediation starts.
"Government has no plan to legislate an end to this dispute and we are not asking either the BCTF or BCPSEA to give up their right to strike or lockout,” he said. "We are just asking them to voluntarily stand down and let classes start while the parties are in mediation.”
Teachers began job action in April and moved to rotating strikes a month later. In June school ended abruptly when teachers moved to a full strike with just over a week of the school calendar left.
At that point Ready said the two sides were too far apart for mediation but has since met with each party separately. Teachers resumed strike action this week and have said they will continue to strike until an agreement is made, even if it delays the start of the school year.
The province is offering parents a $40 per day subsidy per school-age child under 13-years-old beginning next week if teachers continue to strike. The subsidy will be funded from the government's savings of $12 million each day that teachers are on strike and for as long as the labour dispute continues.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
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3 responses
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What Fred Jan Pruneau mean: The government lost many case in court against the teachers and own them billions of dollars. But since he clearly don’t care about the quality of education and have no problem letting court proven criminal (Clark) run the province illegally, the teachers should be forced back to work and forced to give sub-par education to the future generation, Way to god Fred show the world what a ass hole you are! now step away from the computer and never touch it again. You clearly don’t have the IQ to operate it. Maybe you should put more log in the wood stove (you brain)> it’s not because you have a lousy job that everyone else should. If you have Children they need to be taken away from you as you are clearly a unfit parent.
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This strike is all about ‘letting the kids have the education they so much deserve’. Research the issue a little before you feed us this kind of emotive verbiage!
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I went to a one room school with 8 grades and one teacher who managed to do her job without any complaints or threats of walking out on her kids. This is what she signed up for, and chose her career knowing she would have 40 plus students on a daily basis. She also kept the wood stove burning to keep us warm in the cold of the winter, looked after, and taught handicapped children, brought lunch from her own home for the ones that didn’t have one. At most , she was more than a teacher to her students.She was an amazing woman! She did her job and did it well! by herself. Our children, and Grandchildren are the ones hurtingmost from all of this STRIKE! Get them back into the classrooms where they belong, be thankful you have a job, when many don’t. Appreciate the fact that you have so many breaks throughout the year to spend with your families during Xmas, Easter, summer etc.You have a responsibility towards these children as this is the choice you made for a career.Hope you all enjoyed yourextra long summervacation, now it’s time to get back to the classroom andlet our kids have the education they so much deserve!
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