Around 250 or so teachers waved while some passing motorists honked their support as a teachers' rally spilled out onto the sidewalk outside the constituency office of MLA Linda Reid at noon Monday.
The event - one of three rallies outside local MLA offices - came the day before a full, province-wide strike was scheduled to start Tuesday, as the B.C. Teacher's Federation and BC Public School Employers' Association failed to reach an agreement over the weekend to keep schools in session.
Al Klassen, president of the Richmond Teachers' Association, said the employer's proposed roll-back on a wage offer shows they are unwilling to find a solution.
"In my opinion, they have a vision that they want to keep education at a very lean level," Klassen said. "They are at $1,000 less than what the Canadian average is, in terms of per pupil funding. And that seems to be what they're intent on doing."
As for the prospect of a roll-back in the wage offer, Klassen said the government was originally offering an increase of 7.25 per cent over six years and had dropped that by .25 per cent when the B.C. Teachers' Federation had brought down its wage demand from 9.75 to eight per cent over five years - albeit with a $5,000 signing bonus. The government's original signing bonus offer was $1,200.
"It was really disappointing to hear that the government offered a reduced salary offer," said Ingrid Veilleux, a Grade 7 teacher at McNeely elementary, adding there was no information on the issues of class size and composition when the teachers gathered earlier Monday during a declared study session day that closed schools across B.C. "I would like to be back in class tomorrow," she said. "What Christy Clark's motivation is and how she's handling these labour negotiations, I don't know. She says families first - then put your money where your mouth is."
"I am personally just devastated," added Catherine Liu, a teacher at McNair secondary. "I am just so saddened by what the government has done. I will not be able to say goodbye to any of my kids (students)."
On the personal financial side, B.C.'s teachers are taking a hit as the BCTF's strike fund has all but been depleted with rounds of rotating strikes and a partial lock out by the province since the end of May.
"Teachers are really facing a hard time because they've lost their salary for the last month," said Alin Sénécal-Harkin, who teaches at McNeely elementary and reckons that over the past 33 years, he's received a zero per cent wage increase in 15 of them. "I don't know of a lot of people who have not had a pay raise in 15 years. But if I account for inflation, I've lost. And I can't make it up."
The RTA's Klassen added the "rank and file" rally Monday was meant to draw attention to the issues that need to be resolved.
"Our learning conditions need improvement. Our teaching conditions need to be addressed," he said.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Peter Fassbender says the government's proposal is as good as it's going to get, but declined to say anything more, although he added the province will be available to negotiate through the summer if required.
But he is hopeful the sides can still reach a settlement before the end of the school year.
-With files from the Vancouver Sun
