The dispute between British Columbia public school teachers and the provincial government is taking a toll on working parents, according to a new Insights West poll released August 14.
Of the respondents have a child in the public school system, 56% said the ongoing labour dispute has caused stress at work, and 41% are worried that the scramble to find childcare could hurt their career.
More than a third of respondents who do not have a child in the school system said that their colleagues who are parents have to leave early or work less. Of those non-parents, 40% said they had been directly affected by the strike.
Nearly half of British Columbians (49%) say they support the British Columbia Teachers Federation in the dispute; 38% said they support the provincial government. Those numbers are unchanged compared to a similar survey in June.
The government’s offer of a $40 a day rebate for every day that school is not in session hasn’t gone down well with British Columbians. The poll found that 52% of residents thought the initiative was “bad” or “very bad,” while 37% thought it was a good idea.
Teachers have been on strike since mid-June after the two sides were unable to reach an agreement around the main issues of wages and class size and composition. The two sides resumed talks on August 8.
@jenstden
