Jim Iker, president of the BC teachers' union said a full-scale strike scheduled for Tuesday is imminent after the government squandered the opportunity to negotiate a contract on the weekend.
Iker said the BCTF brought significant proposals on wages and contract length to the table, along with options on class size and composition.
"The government sat on its hands for two days. They brought nothing to the table to bring the two sides closer together," Iker said.
Meanwhile, BC’s Education Minister Peter Fassbender had a different call on the weekend talks and termed the bargaining as "productive."
"Anything is possible," he said, when asked if a looming strike scheduled for Tuesday could be averted.
In the meantime, teachers across the province are out of the classroom Monday for a BC-wide study session, but there will not be any pickets up in front of schools.