Veteran mediator Vince to help end B.C. teachers' strike crisis

Veteran labour mediator Vince Ready is seen here greeting representatives of Unifor-Vancouver Container Truckers' Association. (CBC)

Veteran mediator Vince Ready is making himself available in an attempt to end the acrimonious dispute involving British Columbia's public school teachers.
A joint statement from the B.C. Teachers' Federation and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association says Ready met separately with the parties on Wednesday and has indicated his availability this week and later in August.

Ready has been working in mediation for more than 30 years and has worked on more than 7,000 labour and commercial disputes in Canada.

He was recently retained for another 90 days to help resolve the ongoing dispute between truck drivers and Port Metro Vancouver.

The union says Ready will monitor the situation and has agreed to resume exploratory talks, or even full mediation if he believes it will be productive.

Both the employer and the union have agreed to shut down public discussion pending further talks with Ready.

B.C.'s 41,000 teachers have been on a full strike since June 17. The government imposed a lockout during a partial strike by teachers earlier in June.

Two mediators have declined offers to step in and resolve the dispute, saying both sides are too far apart for mediation to be effective.

The main issues in the contract dispute include wages, class sizes and composition.

CBC