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Class size, composition issues worry Coquitlam teachers

Bargaining under a media blackout continues through this week as teachers prepare to return to school after the summer break
Teachers
The B.C. Teachers’ Federation and its employer are in mediation over their expired contract, with several dates set this week in hopes of avoiding a strike.

The president of the Coquitlam Teachers' Association is optimistic a deal can be reached between B.C.'s public school teachers and their employers but said he doesn’t know when and what the contents of a new contract will be.

For now though, it appears the back-to-school routine will go on as usual Sept. 3, with many teachers already back in the classroom preparing for a new school year.

“There’s eight sessions of mediation scheduled before the school year starts. Obviously, we remain hopeful and committed to the process of collective bargaining,” Ken Christensen told The Tri-City News Tuesday.

Still, Christensen said he is concerned that teachers are being asked to concede language on class size and composition that would roll back gains made over decades and nullify a hard-won Supreme Court ruling that enshrined the right to collective bargaining on those classroom working conditions.

“We are looking from the point of view of improving language, not eliminating it,” Christensen said.