Fassbender Wants to Set Record Straight
Prince George, B.C.- Saying he doesn't want to be bargaining in the media, Provincial Education Minister Peter Fassbender says he want to set the record straight on some "misinformation" he believes has been spread by the BCTF.
He says despite the information distributed by the union yesterday "We are not even close" to reaching an agreement.
"On Sunday, the British Columbia Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) tabled an affordable, creative and comprehensive package to end the stalemate, get kids back in school and create long-term stability for parents, student and teachers.
He says the package was not tabled lightly. "We recognize teachers deserve a raise, we also recognize it has to be affordable. We want to conclude this bargaining by the end of June."
Fassbender fought back tears as he talked about sitting with his grand children who were asking him if they would be going back to school.
He says he was shocked with the message BCTF President Jim Iker delivered to teachers Monday morning when Iker said the Province had squandered an opportunity to settle the dispute.
""Their wage and benefit demands alone are more than twice what other unions have settled for. On top of that, they are pushing for hundreds of millions more each year in other contract demands. I'm disappointed. We are now further away from an agreement than we were a week ago. We want to give teachers a raise but the BCTF leadership is making that virtually impossible."
He says the BCTF wants to "stay in its own orbit" and the Province cannot afford the wage demands.
"I want to be clear that BCPSEA is not walking away from the table and we remain committed to reaching an agreement by June 30. Nor is government interested in legislating a contract. We appreciate that brings with it the possibility that this strike
could go on for quite a while. How long it will last is entirely up to the BCTF – but any hope of timely resolution will require the BCTF executive to be realistic. "
Meantime, the BCTF has called on the Province to bring in a mediator to resolve the contract dispute.
Fassbender says his team has not had a chance to consider the mediator request, but adds, "We're available to be at the table."
Comments
Iker is an idiot and his minions are following. Nuff said.
Agreed!
Hey Iker, the 80’s called and want their hair back.
Fassbender and the BCPSEA are Clark’s little minions and they are idiots to.
Nuff said!
Iker and the BCTF lies his head off to the teachers and the public and that makes Fassbender and idiot….might want to read the BCTFs site and see what lies they even admit to.
I think we have finally found common ground…everyone involved in this negotiation are idiots.
agreed tdiguy!
tdiguy is right. Both sides need a show of reality.
The bctf put numbers to their demands and it is half a billion for class size and new benefits plus $150 million signing bonus plus 8% in wage increases.
Teachers might accept something like all the other unions have settled for when the leaves are dropping this fall and they are still on the picket line.
sure would like to know where the teachers’ union dues have been spent….to be out of strike pay already.
An interesting side note from the media conference blog:
“Lee Doney, of the Public Sector Employers’ council is also here, and says he’s getting calls from other public sector unions who he says are worried they will be undercut by a teacher deal.”
In other words, “me too!” “me too!”. This could get really expensive.
This is a difficult fight and we’re all caught in the middle. One side is blind to how good they’ve actually got it and should shut the hell up, and the other is a sack-full of lying scumbags.
According to a recently aired news report every time the bctf has it’s semi-annual hissy fit enrolment in the private schools jumps a couple of percent. They will get the smaller class sizes when the hallways of public schools are empty, along with the staff lounge.
PP-it is not nice to call Iker and company lying scumbags!
Privatize it all and let the chips fall where they fall. Parents might be in for a big surprise though if that happens.
NoWay: “Privatize it all and let the chips fall where they fall. Parents might be in for a big surprise though if that happens. “
True enough. They might be surprised at how efficient and effective the education system can be, instead of the cash cow it is now.
And the extra 10-20k tuition!
Having had some recent experience being at a baragining table with a Union (not the BCTF) I can tell you what the Union says at the table and what it says publically are two COMPLETELY different things. Both Union members and the public are hearing only what the Union execs want them to hear…whatever it takes to get opinion on their side. Nothing is off-side…nothing.
Independent Schools’ tuition, for the most part, is less than the cost of a pack-a-smokes a day. Over 12% of the student population is now enrolled in the independent system and growing.
Parents are usually paying more for child care costs before their children reach school age. At that point those parents that choose the public system are doing it entirely for their own greedy purposes and not for what is in their child’s best interest.
You want to have that new quad and snowmobile fine……but quit b!tching about the public system needing more money to improve. The BC public system is beyond repair.
8% in 5 years is less then the cost of living increase. Everything else that has been asked for is for the students.
@superdave
Can you tell me how $3000 worth of massages for every teacher asked for in the increased benefits package helps the students?
Give your head a shake Mr.Superdave. Please do a little independent research before commenting. Please explain to me how additional sick days, signing bonus, and additional benefits such as increased funding for massages helps students.
$3000 worth of massages show me proof. Non of you have no clue on what they are asking so I would suggest on keeping your comments to your self.unless you guys have proof from now on.
Wow. Given how many massages $3,000 probably gets you, I hope the strike comes to a happy ending too.
Buzzingza, Find your own proof…the truth is out there. You may want to research the part about ‘improvement to health benefits’.
@buzzinga
Read em and weep.
http://www.bcpsea.bc.ca/documents/publications/00-DS-Backgrounder-What%27s%20Really%20on%20the%20Table-Bargaining%20Proposals%20June%2016%202014.pdf
If the bctf does not tone it down it will be trick or treat time when they return to the classroom and they might need a massage after carrying a picket sign for 5 months.
SuperDave – the 8% is window dressing. They also asked for $5,000.00 for signing the contract. Over a 5 year contract it’s really another 2% a year based on a $50,000 salary. And if you happen to retire after year one it’s a heck of a lot more. Check out HumanBeing’s link. I had no idea how much they want. The wage increase is likely the least expensive part. In addition to their raise, they are asking for cost of living adjustments, so the 8% is an actual wage improvement, not less than cost of living.
How about this one. So even teacher’s who no longer work or alive will get full benefits.
“Coverage for teachers on the Salary Indemnity
Plan (SIP â long-term disability) to be the same as
teachers who are actively at work
ï§ Upon the teacherâs death, continuation of benefits
for dependents for a period of 12 months”
Don’t see very much in there that’s “for the kids”.
It’s an interesting thought to privatize the education system.
We presently have private schools. The province gives these schools 50% of the operating budget that they give to the public schools and 0% of the capital budget that public schools get.
Private schools charge tuition in addition to the minimal funding the Province gives them. Most do a very good job. The kids at these schools perform well and get a first rate education that is on par or better than what they would get in the public system. Private schools charge tuition–they have to perform or parents would pull their kids out.
Some exclusive schools charge an arm and a leg for tuition, but many charge very little.
For many private schools, the total cost of education (grant plus tuition) per child is significantly less than the public schools; certainly this is the case for all the private schools in Prince George. These private schools still have needy kids–kids with autism, etc. The class sizes of the private schools are about 10% smaller than the public schools.
The BCTF doesn’t like the fact the many private teachers get paid 10% less than BCTF teachers. But the private teachers aren’t involved in a labor dispute every three years (where there are pay disruptions) and they don’t pay union dues. In the end the private teachers end up with similar compensation to the BCTF teachers.
I’m not saying that we should privatize education, only to say that we do have private education already, it is working, and the total cost is less.
Seems to me the bctf is doing all the work
Actually Icicle I’ll go you one more. We home schooled our daughter, and she managed to be socialized without daily interaction with other kids – seems skating lessons, riding lessons, youth group etc., managed to offset that deficiency. The funny thing is, she use to be able to cover a day’s worth of material in 2 hours, with some instruction from her mother. We took no money from the government, and paid for our own curriculum. She did do two years at Westside Academy, went to CNC, and they said – welcome, your as smart as anyone who has grade 12.
So, instead of giving the district $8,000.00 a year, why not give the parent’s that tax free money, so one of them can stay home and teach their own children. Two kids – $16,000.00 tax free, I’ll bet there’s few that would jump at that chance. But I imagine only professional educators can really do the job right, even though by their own admission with the special needs kids, they can’t do their job right.
sigh…
minister fassbender is partially correct – the bargaining package is expensive…the rest however, well, let us stop an think about something for a moment.
in 2002, when then education minister, now premier, clark tore up the collective agreement, they removed a huge amount of money from the system – about 2
$250 million each year. this action has been determined by the courts of british columbia to be in violation of the charter rights of teachers in this province.
time for a quick math lesson…let’s see…hmmm…$250 million X 12 years of ileagal contract stripping = $3 billion stripped out of the education budget in the last 12 years. wholly hannah that’s a lot of money that was supposed to be directed to supports for kids!
so, what was lost? well, what was stripped out of the contract were provisions that provided for positions such as librarians, councilors, learning assistance teachers, and special needs teachers. add to this decreased funding in other areas, such as psychologists, speech pathologists, etc., and you have quite a different system than it was before 2002.
of course the government sees this as a huge hit to its revenues…but they have taken it out of the system over the past 12 years…i wonder where it went?
the courts have already decided, twice. don’t blame the teachers (although many of you will), they didn’t rip up the contract – they want it back. there in lies the rub.
thank you.
I keep reading about all of those provisions that were stripped out of a contract in 2002.
Lets agree that this in fact happened. When that contract expired, there was NO contract between the BCTF and the Government, and those provisions no longer applied. After that contracts were negotiated with totally different criteria. As for the $250M per year or the $3B over 12 years. Where pray tell do you think that would have come from? As someone mentioned on another article there is no magic money tree…it would have come from you and me the lowly taxpayer…that is of course unless you think that the government has an endless supply of money in the basement and never has to ask you and I for money ever again!
Give the “tore up contract” bit a rest…the BCTF has certainly lied and cheated every bit as much as the Govt has. Keep telling the public you are fighting for the kids and yet turn around and ask for unreasonable packages. Suggestion, how about you scrap everything except the money directly related to the kids; then, just maybe, we’ll believe it is about the kids. This system hasn’t worked in over 20 years, time to scrap it. Privatization is looking better and better.
billy: “this action has been determined by the courts of british columbia to be in violation of the charter rights of teachers in this province. “
That decision is currently in appeal. The BCTF is now using it as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
We do agree on something. The sweetheart deal reached just before the NDP was to be kicked out of office would have cost taxpayers billions, and for what? It is not sustainable, and the government recognized that in 2002. Taxpayers are not a bottomless pit of money.
“Fassbender fought back tears as he talked about sitting with his grand children who were asking him if they would be going back to school.”
Nice try Minister Assburner but I’m afraid I don’t believe a whole bunch about what you have to say.
Dow 7500–“Hey Iker, the 80’s called and want their hair back.” Talk about an assinine comment and so germain to the topic. That comment says a lot for your education
Oldun: “Dow7500 – Talk about an assinine comment and so germain to the topic. That comment says a lot for your education”
Oldun: (from previous sentence): “Nice try Minister Assburner”
LOL.
$3000. for massages, holy COW! where do I sign up?
Whoa, hold on! Can’t hire on yet. On strike and no strike pay! I’ll hang tough for a bit.
Now the BCTF is fighting THIS government. Broken record for the last 20 years.
Well, one thing this strike has taught the kids, you don’t have to respect authority. Krusty Clark, Assbender – there’s nothing that makes an argument look weak like name calling.
So kiddies, watch as we adults slander elected officials and union leadership by making fun of their names, the way they look, the way they talk. We’ll show you how to maturely resolve a dispute. Remember kids, don’t do as we do, do as we say.
“We presently have private schools. The province gives these schools 50% of the operating budget that they give to the public schools and 0% of the capital budget that public schools get.
” .. you are wrong. Private schools get 35% and independent schools get 50%. There are only about 3 truly private schools in BC. Independent is no where near the same as private. Independent schools also put a lot more of their budget towards actual education because the teachers work for considerably less than public teachers. Privatize using the current 50% model and get rid of public education.
“Fassbender fought back tears as he talked about sitting with his grand children who were asking him if they would be going back to school.” .. are we supposed to feel sorry for someone here? The rich minister, the rich grandkids or the rich union?
ALL I SEE IS PENDING NEGOTIATIONS BY THE GOVERNMENT, THAT TO ME LOOKS LIKE THEY DON’T WANT TO RESOLVE ANYTHING OR HAS EVEN BEGAN TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE TEACHERS.
VERY SAD.
When I went to school in the 70&80. Our class rooms where 30 and over. The teacher didn’t have help for the kids the struggled through school. I was one of them with a learning disability. I graduated. Teacher get a grip. Stop being greedy.
The government is NOT ready to settle until school is out (June 29). They are saving millions a day by not paying the teachers and staff. So…. Looks like new wages and the signing bonus will be coming from these savings. Makes too much sense! Would be pointless for kids to go back to school next week. Then the BCTF can say they won
Sitting on a lawn chair outside a school not earning money? Where’s your strike fund? Back to work soon please. Too many kiddies at Tim’s.
Hey Buzzy, tell the BCTF to wake up, perhaps they will get a contract someday, instead of fighting with every party in Guvmint! LMAO
OF ALL SERIOUSNESS, BOTH SIDES HAVE TO GET THERE ACT TOGETHER ONCE AND FOR ALL. THEY CAN’T DO THIS EVERY CONTRACT. A MEDIATOR SHOULD AUTOMATICALLY BE INVOLVED EVEN BEFORE THE CONTRACT ENDS SO ONE HAS TO DEAL WITH THIS BS. SEEMS LIKE BOTH PARTIES JUST LIKE TO PLAY GAMES WITH EDUCATION AND NOT TAKING ANYTHING SERIOULSY AND AGAIN THAT IS BS.
Someone needs cataract surgery or else a new keyboard.
HAHA IT’S ALL FOR YOU HARB
If we are to believe the hacker a couple weeks back, it would appear that Hart Guy is posting under his HumanBeing moniker today⦠interesting. But that is not why I am commenting today.
âPeter Fassbender was born in Germany and immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1952. Since then, he has lived his whole life in Surrey, Aldergrove or Langley. He graduated from Queen Elizabeth High School in Surrey and attended the National Broadcasting School in Vancouver. He got a film librarian job at CHAN Television (now Global) and moved up the ranks to cameraman, and then producer and director.â Notes: From Wikipedia
For a man that has spent most of his adult life around and behind cameras, itâs not surprising to see him playing to them: âFassbender fought back tears as he talked about sitting with his grand children who were asking him if they would be going back to school.â
First a cameraman, then a producer, then a director and now an âactorâ, congratulations Mr. Fassbender, you are less than a genuine man in my books!
“Privatize using the current 50% model and get rid of public education.”
Interesting, since the other 50% comes from fees paid by parents, isn’t that much the same as a tax increase, or would it cost more than a tax increase. If increased taxes for education funding are not sustainable, as some anti-teacher types claim, how can it be sustainable to implement private schooling for everyone with a massive increase in costs to parents? Another case of simplistic solutions without any thinking behind it.
Hey buzzinga, your caps lock key is stuck.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH CAPS?
HACKER NOT CORRECT- NOT HART GUY
@BUZZINGA
Mediator of no use when one side is asking for a half a billion dollars more than what the other side is offering, even Vince Ready would book out within minutes seeing how wide the gap is.
A few months on the picket line might give the bctf a dose of reality, feel sorry for some teachers but that is what they can expect when they elect the likes of Iker and Lampert to head their union.
THE MAJORITY OF THE TEACHERS ARE FROM THE LOWER MAINLAND AND AS EVERYONE KNOWS IT IS BLOODY EXPENSIVE TO LIVE DOWN THEIR, SO DOES ONE THINK THAT MAINLANDERS ARE ASKING MORE THAN THE ONES THAT ARE ISOLATED UP HERE IN THE NORTH. IKER DOESNT CARE ABOUT IF THE TEACHERS GETS A SETTLEMENT OR NOT HE STILL GETS PAID. SO WHO IS THE ONE DEMANDING MORE?
Time for this government to stop crying that they do not have any money to fund education properly. It’s all about priorities. How many of you out there really know how much money is in the kitty? Why is the court appeal taking so long? The big problem here is Fassbender wants to negotiate this court case out of the contract. As a taxpayer I am prepared to fund education properly.
oldman1
Kitty doesn’t have to be maxed out just to get a deal. Where does it say every teacher is entitled to a 2.0% salary increase every single year. No one in the private sector has seen these type of steady increases. Holding students, government, and province hostage is unfair!!
As for the class size, work with the government to find real solutions. What is maximum size of class right now? Teachers should be able to handle 25-30 kids. Didn’t they get trained in university to be able to handle this workload. Shouldn’t the government have a say in what is a reasonable class size. Why is it that the BCTF dictates all the working conditions to government. I know my boss sets my workload, I don’t go tell him to hire some more staff because I don’t like the conditions. He would say suck it up and become more efficient!!
Teachers need to come back to reality and consider the needs of all BC citizens. We need money for our roads, health care, environment, forestry, government workers, etc. Education is important but it isn’t the only priority for this province. Tell Iker to get a fair deal and quit making the students suffer any longer!!
@JGalt, for the record, I DO NOT post under any other moniker!!
Any post cards from Vern lately Dow?
I think offering the teachers a signing bonus is ridiculous. I can’t even comprehend the thought of a signing bonus for something they’re going to sign anyways. Just hand them free money for nothing.
Better yet, how about all the taxpayers of the province get the signing bonus instead of the teachers so we can afford to pay the ridiculous demands of the teachers.
I like what President Ronald Ragan did back in the 80’s when he fired every air traffic controler and replaced them with no problem. Maybe that is what should happen here with BCTF members which I consider a bunch of problem radicals and quit going through this process almost yearly. I’m sure the position can be filled with people of same qualifications.But wait the teachers are doing this for the kids.
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