Delta schools will be shut down again next Thursday in the ongoing rotating strikes by teachers.
"BC teachers remain committed to negotiating a fair and reasonable deal that provides better support for our students," said B.C. Teachers' Federation president Jim Iker. "It's time for Premier Christy Clark to provide the employer with new funding that will help bring the two sides closer together on class size, composition, staffing levels for specialist teachers, and wages."
Delta schools were behind picket lines on Monday of this week and the previous Wednesday in the first two weeks of rotating province-wide strikes by teachers as their bitter contract dispute drags.
The strike in Delta on Thursday, June 12th will be the third week in a row schools would be shut down for a day, but it's looking like it will be much more than that starting the following week.
Following a Labour Relations Board decision this week that ruled in favour of the employer docking wages by 10 per cent for teachers who took part in the rotating strikes, Iker announced teachers will take a vote next
Monday and Tuesday on escalating their job action to a full-blown strike. If teachers vote in favour of the escalation, schools would be shut down two weeks from now.
Delta Teachers' Association president Paul Steer said it doesn't have to come down to that and it's possible even now to negotiate a fair settlement.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender promised that even if teachers go on a full-strike, all provincial exams would happen and that students would get their final marks.
However, he wouldn't say how that could happen without teachers marking the exams.
The minister added he still wants a negotiated settlement by the end of June.
