Tentative agreement reached in B.C. teachers strike

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      A tentative deal has been reached in the B.C. teachers' strike, mediator Vince Ready announced this morning. 

      The B.C. Teachers' Federation and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association arrived at the agreement at about 3:50 a.m., according to the BCTF.

      "I'm not at liberty to release any of the details, nor are the parties," Ready said.

      Both parties are scheduled to meet later this morning to finalize the details of the agreement, and teachers are expected to vote on the deal this Thursday.

      Teachers at B.C. public schools have been on strike since June.

      Comments

      22 Comments

      OMG

      Sep 16, 2014 at 8:13am

      Well bravo for that!!! Let's hope the teachers vote to end the strike so the kids can get their year started without further disruption.

      Paul

      Sep 16, 2014 at 8:29am

      Great, but why not vote Wednesday so they can get back to work Thursday if the vote passes?

      ursa minor

      Sep 16, 2014 at 9:28am

      Things I learned from the Teachers Strike:

      -Never to watch Global TV again as a result of their perpetual anti-union bias and refusing to interview the Opposition Education Critic

      -Never to visit Richmond again as it appears to be home to most of the anti-union provocateur 'BC Parents Federation'

      -assume every anti-teacher comment is made by a Liberal 'Digital Influencer', no matter how much the commenter claims he or she isn't.

      -everyone has their price, including The Tyee, who ran BC government ads on their website despite soliciting donations to support progressive journalism.

      -A dangerous number of British Columbians continue to be willfully ignorant about the collective bargaining process.

      -The B.C. Liberals continue to fabricate 'crises' in whatever sector of public life they insist on selling off to their corporate friends.

      -Far too many British Columbians fail to grasp that democracy is more than gaming the electoral system, and would rather rabidly submit to authoritarianism than speak truth to power.

      Angelo

      Sep 16, 2014 at 9:33am

      Now there is hope. I know that most teachers spend a week before the first day of school setting up their classroom and equipment to have everything ready for the arrival of the students, so it will be a very wobbly start this year. Also, I ask the public to be aware of the public school system in BC, and how it needs to be better funded to educate the citizens of tomorrow. Our education system has to compete economically with countries who offer much superior public education to their young citizens. Question why parents feel the need to send their children to very expensive private schools. It is not to do with unions. The teachers have the same education.

      RUK

      Sep 16, 2014 at 9:58am

      Now I can get back to making rants about people's confessions.

      The other positive news is that there was no general strike, apparently no taking of the other unions' cash, and, hopefully - because optimism is better than the dark - we all know how the Liberals roll in terms of honouring contracts and in how far they are prepared to go. All y'alls who snickered at "Crispy Crunch" with her flip hairdo have been schooled. She doesn't win everything (not the mayor of Van) but she has "it," whatever "it" is. If the people who think they are progressive want to stop losing so inevitably, I suggest you look for "it."

      David Eby might have "it."

      OMG

      Sep 16, 2014 at 10:57am

      @ursa minor

      "-Never to watch Global TV again as a result of their perpetual anti-union bias and refusing to interview the Opposition Education Critic"

      You must be joking. They gave fair coverage and interviewed both Iker and Fassbender. They showed all of the various rallies by teachers, parents and children and never passed judgment on any of them. They didn't go on ridiculous diatribes deconstructing Jim Iker or the teachers.

      Not only that but Fassbender first announced he was willing to negotiate the E80 clause on their noon news and they were the first to announce that both sides had been negotiating even before they met on the weekend. What did you read in the Georgia Straight? Other than today did you see anything about the negotiations? No! All you saw here was a flood of over-the-top, anti-government diatribes by an editor who's father was a teacher. Biased much?

      If you want to be spoon-fed non-stop propaganda then keep reading your leftie journals. Apparently you need that more than a clear picture.

      Mr. Woman

      Sep 16, 2014 at 11:08am

      Oh yippy! Us parents can all trundle our hallowed offspring off to the cattle factories! Its great to have our smug lives back!

      Wow

      Sep 16, 2014 at 11:30am

      so much name calling on here. Listen, Liberal supporters will always be biased against those standing against the gov't. They will never see the Liberals for what they truly are - a corrupt group of opportunists who haven't made a decision that was for the greater good of the population in decades. And yes, those that either despise the Liberals or are teacher supporters will be biased for their side. It takes true strength of character to be able to step back, remain neutral, and call a situation based on the available facts. It would be nice to have more people like that comment on here, but as Bertuzzi once said... "it is what it is". lol.

      I initially was mostly against the teachers; not because I supported the ignorant and bullying tactics of the Liberals. But because I thought the teachers already received a 'fair' wage for their work. From day 1 though I did agree that they should receive all the help they demand for help with special needs children. But then I did gather some more facts, and truth is our teachers receive less pay than teachers in most other provinces even though their cost of living here is so much higher. Our Province pays one of the lowest amounts of money per student in Canada. And although sometimes being a teacher can appear to be an easier job than others, I do now accept that it can be challenging to have to ALWAYS be 'on' - having a positive attitude, being able to listen effectively to the kids, being able to effectively communicate with the kids, dealing with parents (some that can be more difficult to deal with than others), and of course all while trying to pay special attention to those children that struggle either with the school work or emotionally. So I do acknowledge and accept that it can be a challenging job and of course an important one. So I do support their request for a bump in salary too.

      Anyhow, that's my 2 cents.

      tom

      Sep 16, 2014 at 11:45am

      I predict that the teachers will still not be happy. I hope they put the PST up .5% to pay for this. See if they put up income tax, lots of people who are lower income and do not pay income tax and have kids will still pay nothing. a raise in PST will mean everyone will help pay for this. this may not be popular but it is fair. and we ALL want to be fair, well unless your on the LEFT and think that anyone who makes over 40 grand is rich and doesn't pay enough income tax!

      OMG

      Sep 16, 2014 at 12:39pm

      @Wow

      Nice assumption there about people who are opposed to the BCTF. It's always the same with BCTF types. If someone doesn't agree with you then they are automatically a Liberal and they want to destroy education, blah, blah, blah... I certainly don't support the Liberals but I am very opposed to the BCTF. Just think about what you have said. The BCTF has been the most disruptive of all the provincial teachers groups but apparently they are being paid the least. Yet out educational system is excellent What does that tell you? That the BCTF does more harm than good for its members.