B.C. teachers' strike: talks resume with time running out
BCCPAC president says a deal needs to be reached by Aug. 25 for school to start on time in September
The provincial government says bargaining that started on Friday, after weeks of no meetings between the two sides, will resume with the B.C. Teachers' Federation again this week.
Neither the BCTF nor the government is saying much on what progress is being made. And, with time running out before the new school year starts, the B.C. Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils has called an emergency meeting for this Saturday.
BCCPAC president Nicole Makohoniuk says if there's no deal reached by August 25, then school will not start on time.
"The way I look at it, if there's not a resolution in the next two weeks, school will not begin in the beginning of September because principals and teachers will not have had a chance to build those class lists and work together and even get prepared to teach," she said.
The BCCPAC will be looking to find a firm position on the current strike, she said.
"Some parents are really in support of the teachers and some parents are just in support of getting school going," said Makohoniuk.
To complicate matters, the B.C. government has offered the parents of each public school student under the age of 13 years $40 a day if the provincial teachers' strike is not over by the start of classes in September.
When the plan was first announced, Finance Minister Mike de Jong said the cash would be paid using savings made from not having to pay teachers during the strike — a program he said would cost the government about $12 million a day.
BCTF president Jim Iker slammed it as a divisive strategy that would only prolong the dispute.
BCCPAC's president says the feedback she has heard has not been promising for the plan.
"I've heard nothing but negative response to the $40 a day. I haven't heard anything positive there," Makohoniuk said.
B.C.'s 41,000 teachers have been on a full strike since June 17. The government imposed a lockout during a partial strike by teachers earlier in June.
Two mediators have declined offers to step in and resolve the dispute, saying both sides are too far apart for mediation to be effective.
The main issues in the contract dispute include wages, class sizes and composition.
With files from the CBC's Chad Pawson