April 23, 2014 - 8:10 AM
VANCOUVER - The chairman of a Parent Advisory Committee at a Vancouver school says job action by teachers starting today is pitting parents against the educators and the government.
Robert Ford says parents have had enough after 10 years of bitterness between both sides, which must negotiate a contract for the sake of students.
The first phase of the strike means teachers will not supervise students outside the classroom or communicate in writing with principals and other administrators.
B.C. Teachers Federation president Jim Iker wouldn't say how long this phase of job action would last, but says it will escalate to rotating job action if progress isn't being made at the bargaining table.
Iker says the government has offered a 6.25 per cent wage hike but teachers want a nine-per-cent jump, plus a cost-of-living increase, which the government has said could equal an untenable 13 per cent raise over three years.
The union is refusing to sign a 10-year contract agreement, and says it wants class size and composition provisions restored in its contract in keeping with a B.C. Supreme Court decision that awarded the union $2 million in damages.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014