Teachers in Prince George returned to the picket line again, saying their issues with the government are far from over.
District President Tina Cousins comments on the back-and-forth between provincial negotiators who claim to be asking weekly for meetings, and the BCTF who say they can’t get a hold of the province.
“If I had to trust between the government and Jim Iker, I choose Jim Iker,” Cousins says. “He is speaking for teachers and in the past we know that our government hasn’t been entirely honest with us. So, if Jim Iker says if they haven’t phoned him, I believe what he has to say about that.”
BC Teachers have received a donation from the Ontario Teachers’ Federation to help out while they picket with no pay.
Cousins calls it a generous act of solidarity. “That made it so we had one more day of strike pay,” Cousins says. “It’s much-needed money when we’ve been on the picket lines since June, members have lost a lot of income, but that was very generous of them and it’s a $50 cheque but you can go to the grocery store and buy groceries for your family.”
With record-breaking heat and forest-fire ash floating in the air, Cousins still wants the community to know the strike is on and weekly rallies will continue, regardless of weather conditions.
“Some of our members in the lower mainland are still picketing every day,” she says. “We felt that the best choice for us was to target MLA offices, because they are the ones who can say – ‘we need to get back to the negotiating table and bargain with teachers in good faith’.”
Teachers picketed in front of Prince George – Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris’ office, while last week they held a rally outside of Prince George – Valemount MLA Shirley Bond’s office.
