By Lisa McCullough
Published: March. 26, 2012
We look forward to welcoming everyone back to school on Monday, March 26th.
As you might be aware, a number of important events have taken place during the spring break.
The B.C. Legislature passed Bill 22, the Education Improvement Act, on Thursday, March 15.
The Ministry of Education indicated in their press release of the same date, that “The new legislation suspends teachers’ strike action, establishes a ‘cooling off’ period and appoints a mediator to work with the parties toward a negotiated agreement”.
Additionally, the ministry clarified that “The new legislation does not impose a new contract. Rather, it extends the existing contract to cover the mediation period. If a new agreement cannot be reached by the beginning of the summer, the mediator will make non-binding recommendations to government by June 30, 2012”.
The B.C. Teachers’ Federation held its AGM in Vancouver, and have that they developed an action plan to resist Bill 22. Having said this, they also indicated that teachers will continue teaching and will prepare year-end report cards.
They also state that their plan “will be put to a province-wide vote of teachers on April 17 and 18, 2012”. Based on the available information, we can expect that schools will be open again on Monday, March 26th, and teachers will be returning to their usual duties.
Obviously, further information may be forthcoming after the BCTF vote on April 17/18, and this will be communicated through the media and our website.
