One day after talks between B.C. teachers and the province collapsed, the government has opened up registration for parents of public school children who want to claim $40-a-day strike support payments.
The B.C. government says parents of students 12 years of age or younger who register online can expect to have their Temporary Education Support for Parents (TESP) payments processed within 30 days after the strike has ended.
"The registration process went live," Education Minister Peter Fassbender told reporters at a news conference Sunday afternoon. "People are already registering for that $40."
The payments were announced earlier this summer by the B.C. government. They are meant to help offset daycare costs if the strike extends into the school year.
The B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF), however, has been critical of the support payments, calling them unhelpful to the negotiation process.
"This government wants to spend more time working on other schemes…than putting money into our schools," BCTF president Jim Iker told reporters at a news conference late Sunday afternoon.
He also called upon Premier Christy Clark to step in to help both sides reach a settlement to end the teachers’ strike before Sept. 2.
"She can no longer sit on the sidelines," Iker said.
B.C.'s 40,000 public-school teachers have been on strike since June 17 over wages and class sizes.
On Saturday, hopes of reaching a resolution between the province and the striking teachers were dashed after mediator Vince Ready walked away from the negotiating table.
He said both sides were too far apart. "I've been trying to establish some sort of meaningful framework for mediation, but the parties still remain a long ways apart on the issues," he said Saturday.
The chief government negotiation has said there are no current plans for the two sides to meet again.
Ready's departure from the latest rounds of talks has many parents worried that the ongoing strike will likely delay the start of class for the province's 500,000 students indefinitely.
"I'm very disappointed for students, parents and teachers," Fassbender said.
Despite the breakdown in talks, however, Fassbender reaffirmed his promise that the province would not be legislating teachers back to work.
