The clock is ticking as the new school year is rapidly approaching.
But will teachers be in their classrooms on Sept. 2 to greet their students?
Only if a miracle happens, it seems.
The teachers’ strike in this province continues as both sides — the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the provincial government — continue locked in a stalemate.
Speaking Wednesday morning on the Morning News on Global B.C., Education Minister Peter Fassbender said government would not be legislating teachers back and that he was hopeful a deal could be reached in time. But that timeline is shrinking with every passing hour. We are certainly not optimistic that a deal will be reached in time. Both sides seem entrenched in their positions and neither side appears willing to take a step to compromise.
Some hope appeared last week when veteran labour mediator Vince Ready said he would be willing to step in, but his willingness to bring the two sides to the table came with a catch — both sides had to offer up some bit of compromise before he would be willing to play ball.
And this does not surprise us. Ready is not a miracle worker, despite his glowing track record of helping to bring labour peace to many unions and their employers. It’s tough to mediate when the two sides don’t seem willing to change their contract offer. What is there to mediate, really?
This weekend promises to be, quite possibly, a make or break weekend. The BCTF executive and its membership are meeting in Kamloops. If the membership stands firm and doesn’t try to persuade its leaders to compromise in some way, it is very unlikely that enough common ground will be reached and a return to the bargaining table probably won’t happen. That means no deal. That means no school on Sept. 2. That means parents left in no-man’s land trying to figure out how to care for their children. That means students will be behind on their studies. That means Grade 12 students will be putting their post-secondary dreams and graduation plans on hold for who knows how long.
It’s a horrible situation that both sides have put us all in.
Can they find a way to make this work? The next few days will tell the tale.
