Delta public school students will get a day off next week due to an escalation of job action by B.C. teachers.
The B.C. Teachers' Federation this week announced a series one-day rotating strikes that will impact every district in the province between Monday and Thursday of next week. Delta schools will be behind picket lines on Wednesday.
According to the BCTF, the escalating job action is a result of the unwillingness of the provincial government and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association to offer any improvements to class size, class composition and other important learning conditions for students, as well as their unfair wage demands.
All schools across B.C. will be open on Friday, May 30.
Any extension of the rotating job action will depend on events at the bargaining table, according to the teachers' union.
A spokesperson for the Delta school district said a letter would be sent to parents this week notifying them of next week's school closures. At this point, the district has no indication that graduations will be affected, however, if the strike progresses this might be a concern, she said.
The district notes picket lines would be in place throughout the day, so CUPE support staff won't cross, which means only principals and vice-principals will be in school buildings. Since staff will not be available to provide adequate supervision or instruction,
the district is asking parents to make alternative childcare arrangements.
Strong Start Centres will also be closed.
Daycare operations in school district buildings should remain open, but parents are being advised to call ahead to confirm with operators.
Delta teachers recently cancelled participation in field trips for the remainder of the school year. The move was not long after teachers across the province launched the first phase of job action by withdrawing from certain administrative activities.
The one-day strike now ramps things up further.
In a recent interview, Delta Teachers' Association president Paul Steer told the Optimist there was a possibility of an escalation before the school year was done.
"You never know what's going to happen. If I can wave my magic job action wand, I would, and I would give us what we need, which is a fair deal for teachers and better support for kids in the classroom," he said.
"I don't have that power.
There is, however, one person in this province who does, and that's the premier of this province, Christy Clark, who said when she settled with the container truckers, 'Why have a fight when you can get a deal?' That's exactly my question now to her."
The contentious relationship between government and teachers could get worse as there are reports this week the province has threatened to cut teachers' wages by five per cent if a new contract isn't reached by the end of the school year.
