UPDATED: Tentative deal reached in BC public teachers' strike confirms mediator Vince Ready
By Nelson Daily Staff
L.V. Rogers High School students can put a hold on a proposed “sit-in” to protest the BC public teachers’ strike after mediator Vince Ready confirmed Tuesday morning a tentative deal has been reached in the months-long labour dispute.
News sources in Vancouver said the breakthrough in bargaing between the two sides locked in the dispute — B.C. Teachers’ Federation and the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association — came on the fourth day of marathon talks at a hotel in Richmond.
Ready confirmed the tentative deal shortly after 4 a.m. PT. No details are being released before the deal is finalized.
A tweet by the BCTF said “a tentative settlement has been reached as of 3:50 a.m. this (Tuesday) morning. Details not being released at this time.”
“Everybody is a bit tired now,” said Ready, told reporters.
The two sides will resume meetings today to iron out the final details of the agreement.
The more than 41,000 public school teachers still need to ratify the agreement, which could happen as early as Thursday.
The first day back at school remains unclear as administrators say there is much work to be completed since there have been no classes since June.
Teachers need to get back into classrooms vacant since before summer when they were asked to leave — many rooms still with the same papers and books on their desks.
Also new teachers need to be handed their new assignments while classrooms needed to be cleaned.
LVR stage ‘sit-in’ to protest stalemate in teachers’ strike beginning Tuesday at Hume Elementary
Students in Nelson don’t care that both parties in the on-going teachers’ strike are talking at the bargaining table.
Nelson’s public school students are continuing to push the matter by staging a “sit-in” Tuesday on the playground of Hume Elementary School.
“This “Sit-In” will begin at 12-noon on Tuesday, September 16 and will last until the government of Premier Christy Clark agrees to participate in binding arbitration (or similar democratic process) with the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation,” said LVR Grade 12 student Dunavan Morris-Janzen in a media release Monday.
Morris-Janzen said students will be organizing shifts of volunteers to create a “24-hour a day presence” until the situation is resolved.
“Although this is a student organized event, parents, teachers, school administrators and members of the general public are welcome to support us by joining us (day and night) as we make a stand for public education,” Morris-Janzen explained.
“We will be bringing our books, computers and musical instruments to show our commitment to our learning.”
Morris-Janzen said the students are extending an open invitation to Premier Christy Clark and all members of her provincial cabinet to join us and to listen firsthand about our concerns about how this current government’s actions are potentially undermining public education.
“We also encourage others from around the Kootenays to take a stand and join us; however, if individuals decide to do so, one must sign a code of conduct which recognizes our goals, purpose and states rules that the participant must follow,” he said.
“Otherwise, they will be asked to leave.”
Morris-Janzen said additionally, the “sit-in” will always have at least one parent on the premise of this occupation throughout the night.
“We hope that our local action will inspire other communities to take a similar stand, and that through grassroots community solidarity and action; we can ensure that quality public education will be a cornerstone of our communities now and in the future,” he said.
The “sit-in” comes on the heels of a student-led march Friday afternoon through the downtown core of Nelson followed by a rally at the City Hall Courtyard.
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