New Westminster schools will be hit again by rotating strikes next Friday, June 6, the British Columbia Teachers' Federation announced Wednesday afternoon.
Teachers continue to escalate job action by holding a series of strikes throughout the province in response to fruitless contract negotiations between the B.C. Public School Employers' Association - the bargaining agent for the province's 60 school boards - and the union.
One of the key issues for teachers that government has been unwilling to move on, according to BCTF president Jim Iker, is class-size and composition. The Liberal government stripped class-size ratios from the teachers' contract more than a decade ago. The union successfully sued over it, but the government is appealing the ruling. Also at issue, the government is offering a 7.3 per cent wage increase over six years, while teachers want 13.7 per cent over four years.
The ongoing strife between the union and the government ramped up last week, when the B.C. Public School Employers' Association ordered a lockout and pay cut for teachers who participate in the weeklong job action. The partial lockout restricts teachers from working during recess or lunch hours, or from arriving at school any earlier than 45 minutes before school starts, or staying later than 45 minutes after school ends.
The union is expected to go to the Labour Relations Board to challenge the lockout. Iker wants the government to withdraw the partial lockout letter, which he said has created a "lot of chaos and confusion" for teachers, parents and students.
Iker joined the striking New Westminster teachers in front of the high school on Monday before heading out to attend contract negotiations scheduled to resume that afternoon.
Earlier, Ministry of Education issued a statement in response to The Record's request for comment.
"It is unfortunate that the BCTF leadership is shutting down schools with their rotating strikes - it is always students and parents who bear the greatest brunt when the BCTF orders teachers to walk out," Education Minister Peter Fassbender said in the statement.
Fassbender blames the union for the ongoing and says the employers' association presented incentives, including a $1,200 signing bonus, and asked the union to put strike action on hold.
