There may be light at the end of the tunnel in the long-running dispute between the B.C. teachers’ union and the provincial government as both sides appear to agree to mediation.
Thursday morning the B.C. Teachers’ Federation called for mediation to end their stalemate at the bargaining table.
“At this point, the best way to get that deal that works for B.C.’s public education system is through mediation. Christy Clark should say yes to mediation today,” said BCTF president Jim Iker in a news release.
On the picket line with teachers at Richard McBride Elementary Thursday morning, Grant Osborne, the president of the New Westminster Teachers’ Union, welcomed the news of possible mediation.
“We definitely, here in New West, have been asking for that and are really supportive of it. So we are delighted the BCTF has called for mediation. We think it is the next good step to getting towards getting a deal done, which we are all invested in,” he said.
Osborne said Vince Ready would be a great choice for mediator, but he would wait and see what happens next.
B.C. Education Minister Peter Fassbender told reporters at a press conference Thursday morning that the two sides are still far apart.
“We want to give teachers a raise but the BCTF leadership is making that virtually impossible.
“What BCPSEA has offered is already at the very limit of what we can afford. We cannot split the difference. Our government has a fundamental commitment to balance the budget and we have an obligation to deal fairly with all 300,000 B.C. public sector workers.”
In response to the teachers’ union call for mediation, Fassbender said he was open to the idea.
“Government is open to the appointment of an independent mediator or any other actions that will help us to get to a negotiated agreement,” he told The Record in an emailed statement.
John Gaiptman, superintendent of the New Westminster school district, said he was hopeful a deal was imminent and encouraged students considering summer school to apply.
“I would like everybody to believe summer school is a go,” he said. “At this point we are planning that summer school is on.”
He cautioned students against holding off to see what happens in the dispute.
“We can’t have small enrolling classes, so students want to enroll early so there is a better chance that their class will not have been cancelled due to low enrolment.”
