Legislation Calls for Cooling Off Period
Victoria, B.C.- The Provincial Government has introduced Bill 22, the Education Improvement Act, that suspends the teachers’ strike action and sets a "cooling off" period, appoints a mediator to facilitate bargaining, and implements a
new $165-million Learning Improvement Fund and other enhancements to K-12 education.
Bill 22 imposes a cooling off period and suspends the teachers’ union strike action while calling on the assistance of a mediator. The legislation does not impose a new contract. Rather, it extends the previous collective agreement to cover the mediation period, with the
goal of reaching a negotiated agreement by the beginning of summer. If there is no agreement, then the mediator will issue a report by June 30, 2012 with non-binding recommendations.
The mediator will work to balance the interests of employers and employees and their mandate includes the ability to help find agreement on manner and consequences of class organization and the local-provincial split of bargaining issues. Their mandate also requires that any proposed solutions must not result in net new costs for school districts.
The Education Improvement Act also includes several initiatives that will benefit teachers, including the Learning Improvement Fund to help teachers meet complex needs in their classrooms and the restoration of class size and related matters to the scope of collective bargaining.
Comments
Christy just jumped off the cliff!
Very well thought out legislation. You stop the teachers from striking, force them back to work under the guise of a cooling off period, threaten them with large fines if they don’t toe the line, force them to use a mediator chosen by the yourself and write into law all of the concessions that you’ve wanted from the teachers since the charade of “bargaining” began.
Truly democracy in action! Which union will be next??
Yeah I wonder what union next will be demanding everything that they think they need and demanding that every service available to the world be there for them. Get a life people, the world economy is in the toilet, be happy you have jobs that pay as well as you do. Quit making inflation go out of control in our country. Be happy with what you have.
And for all of you wishing for a new government, show me one that has not screwed the people in some way! You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Quit being so damn greedy!
And yes, three years ago my employer said they needed to suspend any wage increases in order to operate within their means. We all did it and we are still working and making a decent living. When things turn around I know my employer will be good for the raise.
PS, In my opinion, drive past the welfare office on 10th on Welfare Wednesday and see all the 20 something male crowd lined up to get their free handout. Maybe if they were not draining society we could afford to have some wage increases for public employees and added services. Last guy I talked to said he was too good to go work for minimum wage he would rather be on welfare!
Teachers should stand their ground and ask the other unions of this province to back them up. This government is union busting and ignoring court rulings which said their previous actions were unconstitutional. It’s time to stand together and show this government that we are not going to take this! Who will be next? Look in the mirror if you are need an answer to that question.
To all of those who don’t think we need unions to fight for worker protections, read a history book to see what life was like prior to unions. Oh, we have laws now you say. You mean laws like the ones our government has been violating? Think about it.
I love when people believe that nobody deserves anything because the world economy is so bad. Wake up people, in this horrible economy people are making billions and government continues to squander trillions.
This is becoming more than just wanting more. The lesson govt should have learned through the hst debacle is that the people eventually forget about principal issues and the overarching consideration becomes people vs horrible govt.
The economy will be bad forever as govt wants the sheep to believe and when it is good again there will be another reason to keep working stiffs down.
Last time I was on a picket line, it was the NDP saying no to a 3 year contract of 0,1 and 1% increases. If I understand correctly, this union is asking for 15%. That doesn’t fly in this day and age. Some teachers are there to teach, some just see it as an easy way to make more money.
Government and the union have been at loggerheads for a year. They are both to blame, but I’m getting real tired with unions asking for way too much.
Well hike the gas prices and help the poor liberals. There isn’t one liberal out there that will demand fuel prices come down to a workable level. Our copnservative government has a majority and can and should create a national energy policy, giving Canadians a break in prices. What is left we could sell on the world market or sit on it. Don’t blame the working man for wanting to keep his head above water and feed his family– he deserves it.
The teachers say that it takes SO many years of being on call and working part time as a substitute until you can land a full time position that it is unfair. What that tells me is there are more teachers or people trying to become teachers than we have jobs for. In any private industry that drives wages down. Maybe net zero isn’t so bad…
My thoughts exactly Interceptor. Not to take away from the difficulties teachers face. I couldn’t do it. I would like to see limits to class sizes and more teachers aids . That would reduce the load on teachers and provide a better outcome for the students. They are our future.
Operation Solidarity shall return!
Stick to your guns teachers, all the unions back you including the BCGEU who will be in the same shoes very shortly. Its time to send a message to BC dictators that they’re crossing the line and we are going to send them back where they belong.
Capt America has it right. It’s time the 1% become the 99%.
It’s not cooling off legislation.
It contains the full range of strips to teachers contracts!
It’s non-binding
The government chooses the mediator
Government won’t give up anything.
It’s bargaining in bad faith.
Shame!
Dragon spends too many bored hours on Lad 1
I propose the following bill be presented in the BC Legislature to be known as Bill 69 – called the MLA Improvement Act.
The act shall contain the following provisions:
1. A 50% decrease in the MLA Pension Plan effective immeadiatly.
2. A net zero wage increas for MLA pay for the next 30 years.
3. A $1,500 a day fine for each day less than 200 present at the legislature during every year.
4. A one million dollar a day fine for the premiere for every day less than 200 that the legislature sits.
5. The above fines to be deducted from the member’s pay and not paid for by the taxpayers.
6. MLA’s and their staff shall pay all of their own expenses.
7. A mediator (Jim Sinclair)shall make a binding decision on everything except the wages which are not negotable.
8. In this time of recession MLAs must all suck it up and be thankful that they have a job at all. The taxpayers are unable to pay any more for their services.
This bill could level the playing field considerably.
It’s interesting to note how many people say that teachers should not get a raise, but that asking for class size limits and what not would be okay and would put the public on their side. Do these same people not realize that in the past, teachers did not take pay increases and in return got lower class sizes and class composition clauses put into their contracts. In 2002, I believe, the government then removed the class size limits and has since refused to negotiate it back.
Its funny. Whenever teachers, firemen, paramedics, nurses, or anyone else for that matter want a raise…there is no money. However when the government stooges want a raise…there is all sorts of cash….and they vote for the raise THEMSELVES!!!
That is so wrong on so many levels. I find it difficult to believe that there are some folks out there who think that there is nothing wrong with that….
A “general strike” is neede right now.
All Gov BC unions should go on strike and let Christy pick up the slack.
All Gov BC unions should go on strike and let Christy pick up the slack.
I’m not agreeing with teachers or govt here. I believe the negotiation process is a fruitless endeavor as it has forever been perverted by politics on both sides.
Governments are operating with short term time horizons and strategy often motivated by future preservation. Unions are unfortunately around to have to deal with new governments repeatedly and also are now faced with self preservation. BCTF has demonstrated with their negotiation history that they are not very good at this process because they never agree to a CBA. And what can you say about the virtues of govt that hasn’t been mentioned before?
One thing that can be said for certain: the taxpayer will feel the negative impact of any decision/agreement that occurs as our kids won’t get better education service and it will cost more.
I like the idea of a Bill 69 ;-)
May we add that any MLA must be re-elected for a minimum two terms before receiving their full pensions. Perhaps they need to be awarded only 20% of their pension benefits per term.
Bill 22 imposes much, much more then just a cooling off period.
Some of the highlights from Bill 22
(3) There must not be included in a teachers’ collective agreement any provision
(a) regulating the selection and appointment of teachers under this Act, the courses of study, the program of studies or the professional methods and techniques employed by a teacher,
(b) restricting or regulating the assignment by a board of teaching duties to principals, vice principals or directors of instruction,
(c) limiting a board’s power to employ persons other than teachers to assist teachers in the carrying out of their responsibilities under this Act,
(d) restricting or regulating a board’s power to establish class size and class composition,
(e) establishing or imposing class size limits, requirements respecting average class sizes, or methods for determining class size limits or average class sizes,
(f) restricting or regulating a board’s power to assign a student to a class, course or program,
(g) restricting or regulating a board’s power to determine staffing levels or ratios or the number of teachers or other staff employed by the board,
(h) establishing minimum numbers of teachers or other staff,
(i) restricting or regulating a board’s power to determine the number of students assigned to a teacher, or
(j) establishing maximum or minimum case loads, staffing loads or teaching loads.
Read the bill in it’s entirety here:
http://www.leg.bc.ca/39th4th/1st_read/gov22-1.htm
My high-school aged daughter says the teens are walking out of school on Friday in support of the teachers. She asked me if she could participate? I told her that in cases like this, she has a democratic right (may I say even a duty) to do what she feels she should. If she wants to support the teachers along with other students in a walk out, then she should. That’s what freedom and democracy is.
Niki, it sounds like you are raising a fine young woman. Kudos to you.
Walking out of School on Friday to support the teachers? What a selfless display of solidarity. Are they planning to walk out Friday morning but return to class Friday afternoon? We had a teahcer’s strike when I was in high school. As I recall, we also did the Friday walkout/ long weekend display of solidarity:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU&feature=player_embedded
It doesn’t seem to matter what this Liberal government gets its hands on, it screws it up.
Now the Carbon Tax is no good….
When everything they touch screws up it is time to find the real root of the problem.
I think the real problem would be every Liberal MLA, once that problem is solved, hopefully we then have some MLA’s that only screw up half of what they touch.
Wouldn’t that be a nice change.
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