BC teachers rally to mark one year without contract
Posted June 20, 2012 5:16 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – BC teachers have now been without a contract for a year and they’re marking the occasion with a series of rallies across the province.
Three major demonstrations were held in Vancouver at Arbutus and 16th Avenue, Kingsway and Fraser Street and Commercial Drive and 1st Avenue.
BC Teachers Federation President Susan Lambert had to skip the rallies because she’s in negotiations with Dr. Charles Jago, the mediator appointed to try and resolve the dispute.
“Teachers were looking at this round of bargaining to address the worsening conditions in schools, the increasing class sizes and the lack of support for students with special needs,” Lambert says. “It’s been increasingly frustrating for us because there has been no progress at the bargaining table.”
Lambert was able to sneak out of her meeting with Jago on her lunch break to attend a mini-rally on the Cambie Street Bridge in Vancouver this afternoon. About 20 teachers stood along the side of the bridge holding signs that said, “Bill 22 only makes things worse,” and “There are now 3,500 fewer teachers.”
Premier Christy Clark has said the government is ready to impose legislation in the summer if a deal isn’t reached by the end of the month.
Teachers want Jago fired and a mediator is considering their arguments.
Meanwhile, the teachers’ union will be back in court in December to try and convince a judge to force the Liberals to change two bills that have already been declared unconstitutional, including one that deals with class size.
