Back to school should be status quo this year, teacher association president Jason Karpuk says.
Image Credit: aka Jens Rost via Twitter
August 03, 2013 - 1:52 PM
KAMLOOPS – There has been no change in teacher contract negotiations at the provincial level since the end of June and local teacher association president Jason Karpuk expects back to school will be status quo.
Karpuk said negotiations are completed locally and he is quite happy with how they went, but at a provincial level there has still been no change from the end of June.
“We're waiting to see what the government is going to do,” Karpuk said earlier this week, “it all depends on their agenda.”
News of what the government plans to do came Wednesday, with the announcement Michael Marchbank has been appointed as public administrator for the B.C. Public School Employers Association.
In a release the move was explained as a temporary measure to ensure the government can advance plans to restructure the bargaining process, expected to resume in September, and secure a long term deal. With the appointment the legal role of the board of directors has ended, though trustees have been asked to remain in an advisory capacity.
The union representing school support staff said Thursday it is tentatively scheduled to meet back at the bargaining table for the second week in August and expects the latest move will help smooth the way for negotiations.
“CUPE education workers keep B.C. schools clean, safe, and inclusive,” CUPE BC K-12 Presidents’ Council chair Colin Pawson said in a release. “The government needs to get back to the bargaining table with funded offers in order to avert more job action in the fall.”
Support staff have gone four years without a wage increase while teachers took part in job action last year because they were without a contract.
To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013