A teacher sits with a placard as she takes part in a march to demand the payment of their salaries from the government in San Jose May 23, 2014. Teachers of public schools and colleges are on an indefinite strike by arrears of their wages for four months,
A teacher sits with a placard as she takes part in a march to demand the payment of their salaries from the government in San Jose May 23, 2014. Teachers of public schools and colleges are on an indefinite strike by arrears of their wages for four months, according to local media. The placard reads "Pay what is owed to me, or I will continue to strike". Reuters/stringer

The public school teachers and provincial government of British Columbia have reached a tentative deal on Tuesday. However, it is yet to be determined when classes will exactly open in B.C. for this particular school year.

Striking members of the B.C. Teachers' Federation have been urged to accept the 6-year deal, a first for the sector in the province. The deal agreement is still tentative not until the teachers ratify it in a vote on Thursday. Their approval on it effectively ends their strike.

Among the provisions, the 41,000 teachers need to ratify include a wage increase of 7.25 percent over 6 years.

A $105M payment to address grievances and $400Mto hire new teachers over the course of 6 years are likewise included in the tentative deal, considered the longest contract ever between teachers and their government employer.

Several hundred new teaching positions each year will likewise be created, as per the deal. There was also a provision that states how on-call teachers are to be compensated.

There was no mention as to how the province will source the huge amount to pay for the teachers, but B.C. Premier Christy Clark vowed they would be able to fulfill their financial commitment without going into deficit, raising taxes, taking on more debt or cutting services.

Jim Iker, BCTF president, urged members to accept the deal since "there are meaningful achievements in this deal for teachers and students."

But while teachers may be excited to get back to work on Monday, Mike Lombardi, vice chair of the Vancouver Board of Education, said the resumption of classes, realistically speaking, rests on a number of factors.

He told CTV News Channel earlier that for one, an overhaul in class schedules needs to be first addressed by school administrators before declaring an opening of classes. He said he hoped the new deal includes an actual date when teachers will get back to work.

Nancy Knickerbocker, BCTF spokesperson, said in a Tweet that they need to first clean the schools before classes can resume. Teachers also need to set up their classrooms as well, she said.