If the government would stop ripping up legally negotiated contracts, (which they have of course lost the court case of that being allowed ) , actually fund any increase that is negotiated and not download it on the school boards there would be no requirement for a 10 year agreement. How can they seriously offer such an agreement to link the wages when the government controls the wage increase and typically in the public sector it was 0, 0 , 2 and 2 ending in 2013/2014.

Collective bargaining works, when the process is followed and not abused by one party or the other.

If you want to know the facts of what is going on with this offer, so that you are informed right from the outset, I strongly suggest you listen to the CKNW Adio Vault segment starting at about 10:15 this (Jan 24/13) morning. Now CKNW is right of centre and definitely a Liberal supporter, so you anti BCTF people shouldn’t have a problem listening to the audio.
My view is that the kids of this province are again being used as pawns-for-votes by this premier.

What Clark is really saying is that she is tired of the BCTF cleaning her clock in the court of public opinion

..public sector bargaining is no longer a process about “collective bargaining” as the government hasn’t followed the priciples of true collective bargaining since imposing provincial veto power through PSEC and equivalents (supported over time by both the NDP and Liberal gov’ts) and wiping out contracts with legislation

…public sector collective bargaining is now about trying to influence the next provincial election so the unions can secure commitments going into the election and maybe influence who their next boss will be

…so this is really Clark’s attempt to fool the public and sidetrack the unions before the May election

maybe she should tie the BCTF percentage pay raises to the MLA’s indexed pensions and cabinet ministers’ pay raises …

One Democrat, you think the premier is using children as pawns, well so are the teachers.

Clark telegraphed, during last year’s negotiations, that she would be back with another affront to education prior to the provincial election. This “offer” is what she was talking about. She is dying for votes across the province, hence a Bollywood awards show to curry (no pun intended) favor with the East Indian community, a seemingly lovely 10-year conbtract with the teachers which is nothing more than an effort to wear a “good guy” white hat while she paints the BCTF as the bad guys, all the while using it to try to squeeze more votes out of a populace that is tired of the corruption from the Liberal crooks.
She’ll also come up with some last minute cash for the film industry to try to buy votes there.
Read the fine print of what she is doing. Also, why should the BCTF trust this gov’t one bit given the fact they rip up contracts and act outside of the law.

This government can not be trusted. If someone else was doing the talking it might be believable. Remember that Christy was the Minister of Education when the Liberal government illegally tore up the contract with the teachers. She was also part of government that sold BC Rail. Now, just before an election she comes up with this proposal. Does she not think that she should have talked to the teachers first. She is trying to negotiate through the media. Negotiate for more votes.

anotherside: “maybe she should tie the BCTF percentage pay raises to the MLA’s indexed pensions and cabinet ministers’ pay raises …”

Agreed! But it should be in real money, not a percentage. The amount of money paid for raises to the MLAs would equate to about a 0.002% raise for the teachers.

Guess what, it doesn’t matter who’s in power, the BCTF have a long history of dissatisfaction. If you think it will all change under the NDP, think again.

The Teachers in BC have it relatively good.

Good Wages.
Good Benefits
Good Working Conditions

So whats the beef. Take the offer and go to work for 10 years and give us all a break.

When Governments negotiate with employee’s that are paid by the Government, there is only one loser. That is the taxpayers. We pay for the negotiater and the negotiatee.

The Teachers in BC have it relatively good.

Good Wages.
Good Benefits
Good Working Conditions

So whats the beef. Take the offer and go to work for 10 years and give us all a break.

When Governments negotiate with employee’s that are paid by the Government, there is only one loser. That is the taxpayers. We pay for the negotiater and the negotiatee.

Bucketman, Clark has included terms in he “deal” which she knows the BCTF will never agree to, so this is all a ruse. It’s politicing pure and simple, and Clark needs an adversary to curry favor with the voters. Some here would vote for the dolt.
By the way, how do you like that Rich Coleman? Phones 2 Surrey councillors to pressure them to accept the casino proposal there. Breaks a provision of the Municipal Act by doing so. Love them Liberals allright.

I am so sick of the whining the BCTF has done, is still doing, and will always do.
They will never agree to anything, they don’t want this arbitrator, nor that one.
Suck it up, work, get paid like the rest of us.

With the BCTF it all boils down to wages. Teachers will never be satisfied! How many of us in the ‘real world’ get paid as much as teachers, get roughly 3 months of vacation a year and get 10 professional development days a year? Perhaps it would be a good idea to set the working hours of teachers and make them accountable for their time. Working from 8 am to 5 pm might be a good idea!

Northern Gal’s comments about teachers needing to work 8-5 reflects the hours which teachers really put it. Their time in the class room with their students is only part of their day. In my immediate family are 2 teachers and they put in much longer days than just the teaching part. Both start their day at work about 7-7:30 to prep their lessons and get out of the schools much later than the students. They both spend time in the evenings and on weekends getting ready for upcoming work. On their professional development days, they learn new concepts and tools to aid their students. Both of them spend at least part of their summer time off getting more education so that they can teach even more effectively. When you take all that non-teaching time into consideration, I’ll bet that roughly doubles the time they actually spend at their job, either teaching or preparing to teach. Maybe that wage which looks to be so highly paid, is not in reality that good. Have you looked at what the employees in the BC oil patch make? Makes the teachers look downright poor.

considering my oldest graduated PGSS and after being tested for trades school found he had a grade 10 reading/vocab level and grade 10 math level he might as well of been taught by an oil worker. I see why they fear the FSA testing.

Zigzag, it took you till trade school to figure out where your kid was at academically? Shame on you, but pretty indicative of a society that wants teachers to not only teach their kids, but also raise them as well.

No wonder teachers are cranky.

Exactly Howard!

Zigzag? Seriously, pretty clear what substituted for your parenting!

Holy crap I’m a single dad with 4 kids,self employed,are you telling me I shouldn’t take the report cards they sent home at face value, that maybe I should of had outside evaluations done just to double check ?. My three that are in school now are thanks to that eye opener all expected to be and are honor roll, principals list, straight A students who finished this semester with perfect attendence. As for questioning my parenting skills the child in question was my step child who I continued to care for and raise after their mother walked on them. I take your comments with a bucket of salt seeing you know nothing of my situation but am quite amazed you would make an arrogant statement based on 4 lines in a post.

My question to simplify it for you was how does a child do well in high school according to his report cards and grad with a C+ avg.Then test grade ten levels at trades school and have to take upgrading ?

And the BCTF’s disgusting rallying cry that “they are raising our children” as echoed in Stern and taxedout’s posts is the main reason I will never support them. I send my kids to school, the same as my father sent me and his sent him, why is it now held against us and used to question our parenting. You wonder why you have no support or respect,how could you when you stoop to ridiculing our parenting because we go to work to help fill the coffers that you feed yourself from.

so to you Taxed Out and H B Stern I believe I owe you this one, my kids learned it in school …..

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I don’t speak on behalf of the BCTF. Where did you get that from?

My mother took my report cards at face value and made it a point to go see my teachers ad nauseum. Drove me nuts, but when I left high school, I didn’t need upgrading. Believe me, if you think what your dad did with you will work for your kids, well, it doesn’t. Things change. It’s called progress.

So is it your fault or the mothers fault who walked out? Just curious seeing you brought it up.

Love the finger gesture to. Classy.

Zigzag99 “ridiculing our parenting because we go to work to help fill the coffers that you feed yourself from.”

Because you work gives you an excuse not to parent, Zigzag?

I am employed in the forest sector, do not represent the BCTF.

Nice thing about this site is you can view previous posts to get jist of the character or in this case lack of character of people. You two seem to be cut from the same cloth,very eager to attack usually never followed by any facts, and quick to bring the insults to a personal level, which is easy when your hiding behind your keyboard. You are both boring internet trolls looking more for reaction then any thoughtful debate.