BC’s teachers voted to ratify a new agreement with the provincial government last week.
Members of BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) voted 75 per cent in favour of the agreement reached between the union and BC Public School Employers’ Association, the government’s bargaining agent. The turnout rate for the vote was 52 per cent.
BCTF President Susan Lambert noted that the agreement provides some modest improvements in terms of teachers’ benefits, which were extremely outdated, and in some leave provisions. “I doubt you could find a single teacher in BC who is happy with this agreement because it does absolutely nothing to improve the situation in classrooms for students or teachers,” said Lambert. “It doesn’t address class size and composition nor does it provide a fair and reasonable salary increase for our members, who have fallen far behind teachers in other parts of Canada.”
Cathy Fisher, president of Powell River and District Teachers’ Association, said the issue was one of those situations where it didn’t matter how teachers voted. “If you vote yes, then you don’t get any of the things that are important to teachers,” she said. “If you vote no, you get a contract strip through legislation.”
Fisher said she thinks teachers voted yes out of fear of contract stripping. “Then what would have happened is, the government would have met in mid-July and stripped our contract of things that they feel are impediments to their education plan,” she said. “When we start bargaining again in March, we’d be starting with a stripped contract, rather than starting from where we are right now.”
The agreement came about only after a long and difficult round of negotiations, which were supported by teachers’ limited job action from September to March, a three-day full-scale walkout, a province-wide action plan including withdrawal of extracurricular activities, and numerous actions before the Labour Relations Board.
“It’s been a hard year,” said Fisher. “Things aren’t going to be better for kids in September, but we’re going to keep bargaining for the things that are important for education.”
BCTF contends teachers’ labour rights continue to be trampled by Bill 22. For that reason, it has filed notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court regarding the legislation, which ordered an end to the teachers’ job action and compelled a mediation process under threat of harsh fines.
Jeanette Scott, School District 47 Board of Education chair, said she was pleased for students that conditions will return to normal in September. “Extracurricular activities will continue and reports will be given,” she said. “I’m certainly pleased it was negotiated and not legislated. Obviously, we would like to have seen our teachers receive an increase, but that’s not the economic climate right now that it’s possible.”
