The association representing local teachers is “disappointed” and “disheartened” by the provincial government’s actions as the battle between B.C. teachers and their employer wages on.
Four months into teacher strike action, the Campbell River District Teachers’ Association lobbied the board of education at a School District 72 board meeting last week. Members of the teachers’ association carried picket signs around their necks with messages such as ‘Negotiations not Legislation’, ‘Bargain in Good Faith!!’, and ‘Local Bargaining for Local Issues.’
Elaine Thompson, vice-president of the teachers’ association, asked for the board’s help in bargaining with the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association.
“We are fighting for the betterment of B.C. children and public education in this province. We feel that all of us need to be on the same side, the side of what is best for students,” Thompson told the board. “So we are here to ask for your help.
“As you know, there has been virtually no progress made at the bargaining table between the BCTF (B.C. Teachers Federation) and the BCPSEA (employers’ association), your bargaining agent, and we feel that the trustees could play a role in resolving the bargaining impasse.
“Campbell River teachers are disappointed and disheartened by the government’s lack of trust and disrespect for the teachers of this province,” Thompson said. “We need to be trusted to do our jobs as professionals.”
Thompson said part of the problem is the employers’ association does not have a mandate to bargain.
“The government’s representative at the table, Claire Avison, has finally stated that the ‘government sets the mandate, and it is not negotiable.’ She has made it clear – the government is intransigent, which means that the BCPSEA (employers’ association) has no mandate whatsoever to bargain,” Thompson said. “How can you bargain in good faith when you have a zero mandate?”
School trustee Daryl Hagen backed up Thompson’s claim.
Hagen has sat on the board for the employers’ association for five years and noted in that time the employers’ association has never negotiated a contract because it is the province making the decisions.
Hagen said he would like to see the board send a message that “legislation is not a way to negotiate” and that the process is not about money, but about classroom conditions.
“Classroom size and composition is not working for this district,” Hagen said. “It’s about coming out with a deal about what’s best for teaching conditions locally so we can do what’s best for kids.
The employers’ association maintains class size and composition are legislation and are part of the School Act.
“These matters are not available for bargaining at any level,” said a release from the employers’ union. “Last year, the BC Supreme Court did find that those provisions were invalid, however, the court suspended its declaration for one year to allow government time to address the decision.”
The teachers’ association began phase one of strike action on the first day of classes, Sept. 6, and since then teachers have abstained from administrative tasks such as writing report cards, filling out forms, meeting with principals, and supervising playgrounds.
Teachers are seeking wage increases, and improved classroom conditions. The employers’ association says the teachers’ federation came to the table with proposals costing $2 billion, including significant increases to salary, benefits, preparation time, and leave time.