Picket lines around schools in Kelowna, Vancouver, Langley and Kamloops

Picket lines are expected to form around schools in at least four districts across B.C. today.

Picketers are expected to set up around schools in Kelowna, Kamloops, Langley, and Vancouver Monday, with all secondary schools in Vancouver behind picket lines Tuesday.

At a weekend conference in Kamloops, B.C. Teachers Federation president Jim Iker called for mediation to start immediately.

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“We’ve been wanting to be at the bargaining table all summer and we were hoping for a negotiated deal before the end of June,” says Iker. “I think we could have got there.”

He says the BCTF has been ready to negotiate all summer.

“We’re ready to negotiate anytime. We’ve been ready all summer. We’ve been ready all week,” says Iker. “My message to the Minister today, and his rhetoric of 24/7 bargaining, is let’s see it,” said Iker. “How ’bout tomorrow? Let’s get this deal done.”

Anxiety over whether school will start as scheduled on September 2 is ramping up for parents and students.