BC teachers vote overwhelmingly in favour of job action

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The teachers have cast their ballots, and they’re in favour of job action.

In all, 29,301 teachers cast ballots, of whom 89 per cent voted yes.

“With this vote, BC teachers have sent a very clear message to the BC government; it’s time to negotiate in good faith, take back the unreasonable proposals, and offer teachers a fair deal that also provides better support for students,” said BCTF President Jim Iker.

Iker stressed that there is no immediate action planned.

“There will be no job action tomorrow, there will be no job action next week,” Iker said. “Teachers now have 90 days to activate the strike vote with some sort of action. There is no set timing for when we will begin. It will depend entirely on what is happening at the negotiating table and whether or not the government and employers’ association are prepared to be fair and reasonable.”

Teachers have been without a contract since June 2013; outstanding issues include wages, class sizes and class composition.

The Supreme Court of BC recently struck down legislation removing class size and composition provisions from the teachers’ contract, concluded the government tried to provoke a strike, and awarded the teachers’ union $2 million in damages.

The provincial government has launched an appeal of the decision and successfully applied to have last month’s court ruling put on hold until that appeal is heard.

Education Minister Peter Fassbender says he respects the process and “both employers and unions have tools available to increase pressure at the bargaining table”

“A strike vote does create additional uncertainty for students, parents, support workers and teachers. That’s precisely why we need long term stability in our schools and why we need to pursue along-term agreement at the bargaining table.”

Fassbender says he hopes the union can focus on tabling their wage demands so they can get on with “meaningful bargaining.”