Education Minister responds to BCTF
By Contributor
Education Minister Peter Fassbender released the following statement on the vote results that provide the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) with a mandate to potentially escalate to a full strike:
“The vote results are not unexpected. While the BCTF leadership received the mandate they sought, no one should interpret this as any kind of enthusiasm on the part of teachers to shut down schools.
“I know teachers would prefer to be in their classrooms and I know that students and parents would rather finish this school year on a positive note. It is now up to the BCTF leadership to decide if they are going to move to a full walkout.
“The earliest a full strike could begin is next Monday – five days from now. It took five days of hard bargaining to get a framework agreement with school support staff. They did not need to strike to get a fair deal and neither do teachers.
“The BCTF leadership needs to come to the table with realistic expectations and a willingness to engage in meaningful bargaining. Teachers deserve a raise but their total compensation demands are about four times more than other recent settlements.
“BCPSEA has a fair wage offer on the table, one that’s in line with recent agreements covering nearly 150,000 public sector workers – including 34,000 school support workers. The offer also includes a special $1,200 signing bonus if we reach agreement before June 30th.
“My message to the BCTF is: let’s stay at the table and get to an agreement by June 30th, so we can head into the summer with the assurance that our education system is on a path to long-term stability and focussed on student outcomes.”
