The head of the B.C. Teachers Federation says a full-scale strike scheduled for Tuesday is imminent because the government squandered an opportunity to negotiate a contract on the weekend.
Jim Iker says the union lowered its wage demand to eight per cent over five years, down from 9.75 per cent over six years, along with a $5,000 signing bonus.
He says the government responded by dropping their wage offer, down to seven per cent from 7.25 per cent over six years.
The government had offered teachers a $1,200 signing bonus if a contract is reached by the end of June.
Iker says the federation executive will meet this afternoon and decide on their next move.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender says the government's proposal is as good as it's going to get.
Fassbender wouldn't reveal any more details of the proposal but said the province will be available to negotiate through the summer if necessary.
He added that the province is also prepared to lift its partial lockout notice to allow summer school to proceed.
However, Fassbender said he is hopeful the sides can still reach a settlement before the end of the school year and the signing bonus offered to teachers is still on the table if they are able to achieve that.
"The ball is squarely in their court," he said.
"Anything is possible," he said, when asked if a looming strike scheduled for Tuesday could be averted.
Families waiting for word on the weekend talks were forced to make alternate arrangements for their children, with the possibility that schools could remain closed until September.
More than half a million students across the province did not have class Monday as teachers reviewed the latest bargaining proposals.
The union, which represents more than 40,000 teachers, presented a new contract proposal to the employer on Friday.
The union started rotating strikes in late May, cancelling classes for students one day each week in every district in the province.
Teachers voted 89 per cent early in March in favour of the limited job action.
In late May, the government countered the escalation with a partial lockout and docked teachers' pay by 10 per cent.
The pay cut was sanctioned by the provincial labour board, which also ruled that marking critical secondary exams is an essential service.
Meanwhile, the Greater Victoria Teachers' Association has a 1 p.m. rally planned Monday outside the Legislature.
Teachers from Victoria, Saanich and Sooke school districts will join with counterparts from Cowichan, Lake Cowichan and the Gulf Islands for the rally. Their message is to call on the government to bargain in good faith, said a news release.
Teachers, who have been taking part in rotating strikes, have said they'll follow through with plans for a full walk-out on Tuesday if there's no progress in negotiations between the BCTF and the employers' association, which represents the provincial government.
"We're hoping that before Tuesday, something will happen at the bargaining table," Benula Larsen, president of the Greater Victoria Teachers' Association, said today.
Last week, Premier Christy Clark ordered her education minister to rebuild the broken way in which B.C. bargains with its unionized teachers, once the current strike is settled.
Clark's instructions, contained in a mandate letter to Peter Fassbender, call for him to "present options to cabinet on ways to restructure collective bargaining with the B.C. Teachers' Federation" within the next year.
The past 20 years of provincial bargaining with the BCTF have produced only two negotiated deals (one after a legislated 'cooling-off' period), three strikes and three legislated contracts.
A full-scale strike is scheduled for Tuesday.
Teachers' union president Jim Iker has said members will gather away from schools to review the latest bargaining proposals.
Negotiations began 16 months ago, and teachers have been without a contract since June 2013. The government has said it will save about $60 million each week in teacher salaries if a strike proceeds.
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