Prince George, B.C. – Both the BCTF & the provincial government have released statements on this weekends failed bargaining session in which mediator Vince Ready walked away because the two sides were “too far apart.”

BCTF president Jim Iker blames the government arguing they are “not prepared to find a fair settlement.”

He says even though the union dropped $125 million from their contract proposals “the government did not indicate they were willing to make any meaningful moves in return.”

Further, Iker claims the government is trying to “negotiate away previous court losses and any future decisions,” noting the union will not bargain away everything the BC Supreme Court has already awarded them.

A statement by Education Peter Fassbender paints a different picture of the negotiations however arguing the union’s demands are “unaffordable.”

“The union made no substantive effort to get anywhere near the zone on wages and benefits. Their moves were so small that their compensation demands remain nearly double what 150,000 other B.C. public-sector workers have settled for. They even insist on a special $5,000 signing bonus that no one else received.”

He says the government’s offer includes a six-year term and a 7% wage increase which “is very near the limit of what we can afford.”

And though classes are just days away from starting, Fassbender says the government will not be legislating an end to the strike.

“It’s the wrong thing to do. It would only keep us in the same dysfunctional treadmill that we’ve on for the past 30 years.”