Bargaining between B.C. teachers and province paused for 3 weeks

Unionized teachers in B.C. will be starting the school year without a new collective agreement.

Talks between the B.C. Teachers' Federation, which represents 43,000 teachers, and the provincial government have beenpaused until September 23, following eight days of mediation.

The decision was made at the close of the mediation session Friday.

Mediator David Schaub said there are too many outstanding proposals between unionized teachers and the province.

Schaub recommendedtalks be put on hold until Sept. 23, at which point bargaining will resume.

The teachers' federation says it has not authorized a vote to strike at this time.

The collective agreement between the BCTF and the employers' associationexpired June 30. The mediator was brought in by the Labour Relations Board in July.

The teachers' federation says its bargaining team remains concerned about government proposals that would roll back parts of the collective agreement restored by the Supreme Court of Canada.

Those include provisions on class size and compositionand staffing ratios for specialist teachers.

"The BCTF has been clear that rolling back ourrestored language is not something we will entertain," BCTF president Teri Mooring wrote Friday in a letter to members.

The BCTF won a landmark decision onclass size and composition in the Supreme Court of Canada in 2016.

The legal dispute dated back to 2002,when the B.C. Liberal government used legislation to stripteachers of their right to bargain class size and composition.

The federation said the break in mediation will give local teachers' associations time to hold general meetings and get members up to date.

It's pushing for more funding from the province to improve classroom conditions and low wages.

In a statement, B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming said he wants both parties to reach a fair deal and for teachers to get fair wage increases.

"We respect and support the rights that the Supreme Court gave back to the parties to bargain language, and that's exactly what the parties are doing," Fleming said.

"This pause will give both sides time to reflect and let the school system focus on getting kids back into the classroom."

Fleming noted the association has proposed one option with a two-per-cent yearly wage increase over three years and no change to the collective agreement's language.

The school year is set to beginTuesday.