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Teachers' strike on Monday

Eighty-seven per cent of B.C. teachers voted in favour of new job action

Burnaby teachers will join their counterparts across the province Monday for a full-scale teachers' strike.

Eighty-seven per cent of B.C. teachers voted yes to escalate the current job action. Of 32,209 ballots cast, 27,946 voted in favour. The strike will last three days.

"Teachers are determined and united in their opposition to Bill 22 and to the bullying tactics of a provincial government that has deliberately underfunded public education for a decade," said Susan Lambert, president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation.

The union said that Bill 22, tabled yesterday in the legislature, seeks to impose a net-zero contract, to restrict the ability to negotiate improved learning conditions and to eliminate fundamental civil and labour rights for teachers.

"The results of our provincewide vote are strong evidence of the unity and determination of BCTF members in rejecting this government's provocative and damaging legislation," said Lambert, who worked in Burnaby as a teacher-librarian and resource room teacher for students with special needs.

The Labour Relations Board is allowing the union to stage a full walkout one-day-per-week, following the initial three-day strike. The Liberal government's legislation will make any strike by teachers illegal.

"Most people are characterizing the bill as a 'measured, thoughtful, balanced and constructive' approach to a dispute that has been going on for almost a year with little chance of a resolution," Education Minister George Abbott said in a press release. "If you look at the history of the relationship between the teachers' union and the government in this province, you'll soon realize that in almost 20 years of provincewide bargain-ing, the BCTF has only successfully concluded one negotiated agreement. You will also realize that Bill 22 is a measured and appropriate response to the current situation.

"I am disappointed by the initial comments coming from the teachers' union. In the most frustrating example - the union has been asking for mediation. Now, they are rejecting the idea simply because the mediator is required to strike a genuine balance in the discussions by looking at what both parties want so we can put the needs of students first."

Burnaby district parent advisory council chair Jen Mezei said the district-wide parents' group remains neutral over whether it supports the teachers' job action.

"However, it is disappointing that both sides have not managed to come to a compromise and settle the dispute," she said.

"Parents are frustrated at the whole situation, and parents and students are caught in the middle as this has played out once again."

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