Teacher's Strike Vote

Will there be a teachers' strike in the fall? Teachers in the Okanagan Skaha School District may be one step closer to that with a strike vote this week.

Terry Green, President of the Okanagan Skaha Teacher's Association, says he hopes that the vote will demonstrate how seriously teachers are taking this issue.

“We deserve a fair and reasonable salary increase. We are intent on arriving at an agreement, but we need the employer's representatives to also indicate that they have a serious intent to reach an agreement,” says Green.

He says the wage increase offer of 8% over four years is barely enough to cover inflated cost of living expenses.

“We feel that is going to keep us further and further behind other jurisdictions in Canada. In fact, we are going to be seeing a drastic exodus of teachers from British Columbia to other areas such as Alberta and Ontario," Green says.

Green also notes that currently there is a significant shortage of Teachers-on-Call (TOC's).

“The statistic I've heard out of our board is that at least two out of every five days during the school week there are not enough TOC's available to cover absent teacher.”

Some 38,000 teachers across BC are eligible to vote today and tomorrow, with about 400 eligible teachers in the Okanagan Skaha School District.