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Resentment in the air as teachers return to work
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Metro
Just because teachers are back in classrooms Thursday doesn’t mean their war with the provincial government is over.
Thousands of teachers, union supporters, parents and students rallied outside the Vancouver Art Gallery to throw their support behind the B.C. Teachers’ Federation Wednesday, on the last of three legal strike days this week.
Amid the ramped-up and rampant rhetoric, BCTF president Susan Lambert continued to insist teachers won’t retreat as Bill 22 threatens to legislate an “unreasonable” contract extension on them.
“This legislation will not sit well with teachers, it will be resisted by teachers. I don’t know what that will look like yet, we haven’t decided yet,” said Lambert. “We’ll always give parents adequate notice.”
Despite playing coy earlier in the week, Lambert confirmed teachers will be back working “bell to bell” Thursday.
The union is legally entitled to one more day of full strike action next week, though Lambert ominously said members are keeping their options open.
“Our members are being consulted right now,” she told media.
B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair said the union will back BCTF to the hilt, but said conditions are ripe for a settlement thanks to the strike and public support for teachers.
“I believe there is still lots of time to make an agreement,” he said. “The government has to be realizing that there is no win in Bill 22 for them, the politics suck.
“We did a poll and found only 15 per cent of people support the legislation. That’s a big problem for (Premier Christy Clark) if she thinks she’s going to be re-elected.”
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