With rhetoric at a high level and misinformation circulating at a fast pace, it’s difficult for the public to sort out the issues surrounding the teachers’ dispute.
BCTF (BC Teachers’ Federation) and the provincial government have accused each other of manipulating information and data in the battle for public support, which, so far, appears to be split.
Teachers, through BCTF, say they want a fair and negotiated agreement, not something imposed by government legislation. They are seeking the restoration of class size and composition guarantees and full seniority rights. Additionally, they are looking for a 15 per cent pay increase, pointing out BC teachers’ salaries are now ninth in Canada. They also say they have sacrificed salary increases in the past to gain improvements for students, only to have them removed in 2002.
Last week, the government introduced legislation, Bill 22, which establishes a cooling-off period and appoints a mediator. That triggered a legal, three-day teachers’ strike across the province.
While the government says Bill 22 sets out a fair and balanced mediation process, BCTF wanted an independent mediator. The union also says a fair settlement can’t be reached because the government insists any mediated settlement must respect its net-zero mandate.
The government has not signalled it will move from its net-zero mandate, which stipulates any pay increases must be balanced by reductions in other areas of a contract. It states that virtually every other public sector union in the province has signed agreements at net-zero and that BCTF’s wage demands are unreasonable given the current economic reality. If the government strays from its net-zero mandate, other public-sector contracts that are going to be negotiated in the near future, as well as the 130 other agreements that have already been signed, will be affected.
Teachers have made convincing arguments for the need for more resources in classrooms. They say a decade of cuts have hurt the education system and the reductions impact students. They are seeking limits on class sizes and more support for special needs students. While Bill 22 increases the funding for special needs students over the next three years, teachers say it’s not enough.
BCTF and the government are locked in a bitter battle, as students look on from the sidelines. It appears the dispute is too far advanced to ask for mutual respect, trust and understanding. But somehow, the bitter relationship between the government and BCTF has to improve so in the end the best interests of students are served by BC’s public education system.
