BC Teachers' Federation will be rotating one-day walkouts in Phase 2

The BC Teacher’s Federation (BCTF) have announced this morning that they are moving to Phase 2 of the job action.

This will include rotating one-day walkouts in B.C after the provincial government threatened to cut teachers’ wages by 5 per cent last week if they did not reach an agreement by the end of the school year, but today’s decision to move into Phase 2 could see cuts rise as high as 10 percent.

BCTF is threatening to take the issue to the Labour Relations Board. In today’s press release, the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) and provincial government have not made any comments regarding changes to the improvement of “class sizes, class composition, and other important learning conditions for students, as well as the employer’s unfair wage demands”.

Rotating strikes begin Monday May 26, 2014 and will last until May 29, 2014 for all B.C school districts. Schools will be open May 30, 2014 and an extension may ensue if an impasse is reached at the bargaining table.

Teachers have been without a contract since June 2013. In March 2014, 26,051 members of the BC Teachers’ Federation voted in favour of job action with Phase 1 beginning in April. The BC Teachers’ Federation website is down due to overwhelming amount of Internet traffic.

Peter Fassbender, Minister of Education, is scheduled to make a statement at 12:30 today

BCTF rotation strike list

Monday, May 26

#5 – Southeast Kootenay
#6 – Rocky Mountain
#28 – Quesnel
#39 – Vancouver
#40 – New Westminster
#48 – Sea to Sky
#49 – Central Coast
#59 – Peace River South
#62 – Sooke
#67 – Okanagan Skaha
#72 – Campbell River
#74 – Gold Trail
#75 – Mission
#78 – Fraser-Cascade
#85 – Vancouver Island North
#87 – Stikine

Tuesday May 27

#10 – Arrow Lakes
#19 – Revelstoke
#20 – Kootenay-Columbia
#23 – Central Okanagan
#27 – Cariboo-Chilcotin
#35 – Langley
#38 – Richmond
#42 – Maple Ridge
#52 – Prince Rupert
#54 – Bulkley Valley
#63 – Saanich
#68 – Nanaimo
#70 – Alberni
#81 – Fort Nelson
#83 – North Okanagan-Shuswap

Wednesday May 28

#34 – Abbotsford
#37 – Delta
#43 – Coquitlam
#47 – Powell River
#50 – Haida Gwaii
#51 – Boundary
#53 – Okanagan Similkameen
#60 – Peace River North
#61 – Greater Victoria
#69 – Qualicum
#73 – Kamloops Thompson
#84 – Vancouver Island West
#91 – Nechako Lakes
#92 – Nisga’a

Thursday May 29

#8 – Kootenay Lake
#22 – Vernon
#33 – Chilliwack
#36 – Surrey
#41 – Burnaby
#44 – North Vancouver
#45 – West Vancouver
#46 – Sunshine Coast
#57 – Prince George
#58 – Nicola Similkameen
#64 – Gulf Islands
#71 – Comox
#79 – Cowichan Valley
#82 – Coast MountainsSchool District

#93 (Conseil Scolaire Francophone)

Schools will be closed with others in their local communities throughout the week.