Public schools teachers will decide whether to support the tentative deal between the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the Provincial government later this week.
Federation President Glen Hansman says the proposed deal restores all the language the BCTF has been fighting for since 2002.
“We are recommending it as Provincial Executives, unanimously recommending it, so we hope that we can move forward and turn the page one what has been a really ugly chapter in [Kindergarten to Grade 12] education history here in British Columbia.”
The Supreme Court of Canada restored the BCTF’s rights to bargain class size and composition four months ago after a 15-year battle. Hansman is glad the fight is coming to an end, but he says the win is still bittersweet.
“A whole generation of kids has gone through their entire K-12 experience without those frontline services in schools and our members have had to deal with really difficult workplace conditions.”
The vote runs Wednesday to Friday.