With the hiring of a mediator for the teachers’ contract dispute it has been made clear that results are still not a sure thing.
Dr. Charles Jago was appointed to mediate contract talks between the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) on March 28. While BC Education Minister George Abbott tried to sound positive about the appointment in a media teleconference, the two parties implied there is little hope for a resolution in what Abbott called a “stalemate.”
“He comes equipped with all the powers that mediators normally are possessed of in disputes such as this,” Abbott told media. “He is not, though, an arbitrator who can bring the parties to a conclusion. He can help them address all the outstanding issues on the bargaining table. There’s only so much any mediator can do. I’m optimistic the parties will embrace this opportunity.”
Jago is a former University of Northern British Columbia president and has held academic appointments in Canadian universities for over 40 years. He has served on the boards of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada as well as the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
Jago ran into questions from media about his experience in contract negotiations. He said he has participated in negotiations from the employers’ side but admitted he had no experience with mediating contract disputes.
“One would have to question the wisdom of the government for appointing someone like me but I do have related skills and maybe the fact that mediation hasn’t worked out very well in the past has influenced the thinking that it’s time we need to take a new approach...I can deal with the representatives of the BCTF as educator to educator. It’s a shot in the dark.”
Cathy Fisher, president of Powell River and District Teachers’ Association, echoed the media’s questions, given that BCTF put forward names of two judges it thought would be fit for the job.
“One of the requirements is that he work with us to decide what parts of our collective agreement we want to get rid of and that’s not something that’s going to go over well.”
Abbott acknowledged BCTF put the names forward but said the judges suggested would not be released for the purpose of mediating the contract dispute.
So far the parties agree on one thing: the chance of a resolution emerging before the June 30 deadline is small. Abbott said the government did not resort to binding arbitration because of a net-zero mandate, meaning there will be no net increase in overall compensation over two years.
“I’m afraid there’s zero possibility of government deviating from what has been the basis now of 130 public sector settlements with virtually every union except for the BCTF,” Abbott said.
Fisher said teachers are ready to talk. “The government is pretty firm on their mandate,” she said. “We’ve been clear that we’re open for negotiation, we’re ready to talk about everything that’s there on the table.”
