"It's time to get a deal," the second vice-president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation said Tuesday during a visit to Prince George in support of striking teachers.
Teri Mooring toured picket lines across the city as part of an effort by the federation to keep their members up to date on negotiations with the provincial government.
"What we want absolutely, and what the government has indicated they want, is [to reach] a deal quickly," she said, adding the federation thinks the two parties should be come to one by the end of June.
The major issues between the two parties relate to class composition and wages. The federation would like to see mandated class sizes and a 13.7 per cent wage increase over four years, while the government's offering an increase of 7.3 per cent over six years.
"We understand that compromise is necessary," Mooring said. "We're fully willing to compromise and government needs to as well, because they've been pretty entrenched in their position."
Mooring said she thought the teachers were receiving support from the Prince George public, as she saw many parents came by the picket line and people honked as they drove by.
One of the organizations definitely supporting the teachers is the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
"When people are going by the picket lines, they are going to see CUPE signs on the lines," said Karen Wong, the president of the union's Local 3742. "Our members aren't crossing the picket line and we fully support the teachers in their job action. Any day they have a job action, we won't be at work."
The union is supporting the teachers because CUPE workers will soon be in their own negotiations with the government.
"CUPE and the teachers are both dealing with the same provincial government and it's a huge issue of underfunding of public education in the province," Wong said. "It's something that affects teachers, CUPE, parents and [most of all] it affects the students. So we're all in the same fight together."
Students are also taking action in the labour dispute. Local students have walked out of Kelly Road, Duchess Park and Prince George Secondary schools and a provincewide walkout by students has been discussed on social media for this morning.
Mooring said she wasn't going to comment on the walkout because she was unfamiliar with what the students were saying, but Brian Pepper, School District 57's superintendent, addressed the prospects of a student walkout.
"We fully respect the voice of students and their legitimate right to share their concerns," he said in a press release, adding the district couldn't guarantee the safety of any student that exited school property and strongly encourages students not to walk out.
