BC Teachers Ratify Deal to Restore Collective Agreement Language
Prince George, B.C. – B.C.’s 41,000 public school teachers have voted 98.4% in favour of ratifying the tentative agreement reached between the BC Teachers Federation, the BC Public School Employers’ Association and the Ministry of Education on implementation of teachers’ restored collective agreement language.
BCTF members have been voting on the deal over the past two days with 21,156 participating in the vote.
The agreement followed four months of bargaining which took place after the BCTF won a 7-2 victory in the Supreme Court of Canada restoring, among other things, class size, composition and staffing ratios to 2002 levels.
The umbrella provincial agreement sees the restoration of all local collective agreement provisions that were deleted through provincial legislation in 2002 and again in 2012. Specific local language covering members of all 60 teacher associations in the province is restored.
BCTF President Glen Hansman says “with this vote, BC schools are finally on the verge of having better working and learning conditions back in place. With our restored language in effect, BC schools, students and teachers will see significant improvements in class sizes, support levels for children with special needs and access to specialist teachers this September.”
Hansman says the focus will now shift to the collective agreement-based school staffing processes that will begin later this month, as well as holding the government accountable for its commitment to fully fund all the costs.
President of the Prince George District Teachers Association, Richard Giroday, says “I’m pleased that, across the province, members have made the decision to accept the agreement in committee so that hopefully when the other side ratifies that it will become the agreement.” There is no indication as yet just when the employer will make its decision on ratification, however Giroday is hopeful that that will be done by Monday, adding “because the sooner its done the sooner we can move forward, which is excellent.”
As far as details of the deal Giroday says “I can’t speak to the agreement because it hasn’t been ratified by the other party so once we know the other party has ratified it then I can speak publicly about the agreement in committee.”
“I can say that we’re very pleased with it, it does restore all the language around supports for the students in terms of class size, class composition, those articles that we stripped out have all been returned. And that has been really good news for students and parents across this province, it’s just incredible.”
Comments
Looks like 50% of the teachers did not bother to vote.
You are using the old number of 40,000 teachers employed province wide. That number have been decimated over the 16+ years this BC Liberal Government has been in power. Some school districts had 40% of their teachers laid-off, some even more.
Now, after all those lay-offs, the province is trying to hire teachers to meet the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling, on original class size and composition numbers per teacher that was illegally stripped away by the BC Liberals (Christy Clark Ed Minister) In 2002.
ht tp://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/unprecedented-number-of-bc-teachers-receive-layoff-notices/article18751671/
Sorry, I posted this comment by accident, was not meant to be posted.
Why wasn’t it meant to be posted? Did it have anything to do with what was in your linked article?
I hope that everybody reads the article. I especially like the very first two paragraphs:
“It happens every spring: Dozens of B.C. public-school teachers are laid off as part of a juggling exercise in which school districts adjust their payrolls to correspond with projected budgets and enrolments for the next academic year.
By September, many have been rehired.”
Oh, I can see why you didn’t want to post this link. It shows that things are never as bad as you portray them to be Peeps!
In your blind rush to post, you just grab headlines that you think support your position! Sucks to find out that not everything aligns with your warped view of the world!
But, thanks for doing your usual diligent research and for posting these “Facts and Truths”! (Hope you picked up on my major league sarcasm, hahaha!)
I’m curious, does the NDP hold back any of your troll emuneration when you screw up?
kinda funny how a story says 41000 public school teachers but you cant agree. Even the story you link up to contradicts you.
Your credibility is at an all time low. Nothing more than an NDP copy and paste hack. Do you ever have an original idea of your own?
I also read the article. I noticed that you ignored the very next sentence at the beginning of the third paragraph, Hart Guy, which said,
“This year, the process has been even more disruptive than usual.”
And the fifth paragraph, which says,
“‘There is a lack of continuity, no question, for the kids,’ Mr. King said. ‘We have had layoffs every year since 2002. … In some respects, it has become the new normal. But last year was pretty severe, and this year, it is just incredibly harsh.'”
And the final paragraph, which said,
“‘Our budget is 92 per cent salary,’ he said. ‘So you have to let people go.'”
You making another assumption that BH withdrew his comment because of the linked article. That straw man came from you and you could be wrong. Usually you are, of course, but even with that you had to selectively cherry pick paragraphs to support your wonderwoman, Christy. As you say, “Sucks to find out that not everything aligns with your warped view of the world!” I would suggest that people read the whole article and judge its relevance for themselves. I certainly wouldn’t suggest they just accept your myopic view of Christy’s universe.
By the way Stompin Tom, exactly where does the linked article contradict BH. I could not see it. Please tell us.
Peeps is well known for not reading his/her linked articles before posting. Looks good on ya Peeps.
Ammorna,
Article states 41000 public school teachers, BH rants about how that is an old number and has been “decimated” over 16 plus years, while the actual number of BC teachers IS 41000 as per the article. Contradiction proven.
Stompin Tom, I did get the reference to 41,000 teachers in the Opinion 250 article. You claimed, however, that “Even the story you link up to contradicts you.” The article he linked up to does not contradict him, at least, I could not see where it did. So I repeat my question, where in the article BH linked to does it contradict him? I don’t know how much plainer I can ask the question.
If you had eyes you could see ammonra. Read the first line where she says “using the old number of 40,000”. Cant be much plainer than that
I’m sorry Slinky, but do you not understand English? The references to 40,000 and 41,000 are from the Opinion 250 story. I am challenging Stompin Tom to support his statement that the article linked to by BH contradicted him, as Stompin Tom claimed. That article was in the Globe and Mail not on Opinion 250. Show me where the Globe and mail article contradicted BH!
Duh!
OMG did they vote to go back to contract provisions that were in effect before the great big generous unaffordable Glen Clark NDP “sweetheart deal”?
Nah, didn’t think so!
Hart Guy:
“the great big generous unaffordable Glen Clark NDP “sweetheart deal”?
But, Bernier claimed the increased spending “is great news for students, parents, and teachers. If ratified, the agreement means thousands more teachers, more resources and more classroom supports.”
As I understand it, the Clark agreement saw teachers sign a three year contract at 0, 0, and .02.
They gave up wages and had that money put into a better education system.
As Hansman,the BCTF president, is quoted in The Province, “With our restored language in effect, BC schools, students, and teachers will see significant improvements in class sizes, support levels for children with special needs, and access to specialist teachers this September.”
You seem to ignore that the Liberals now see this contract as “great news.”
karmann, I’m honest enough to say that Bernier and the Liberals are now kissing the BCTF’s butt and are trying their best to save face!
The Clark agreement, the one that you say saw the teachers sign for 0,0 and 2 was signed during a period of restraint. The Glen Clark NDP didn’t want to “fight” with their friends in the ever militant BCTF! The BCTF wanted no part of a 0, 0 and 2 agreement, even though most other public sector unions had already signed on to 0,0 and 2 “restraint” agreements.
Eventually, Glen Clark and his NDP government caved in to the BCTF, giving them a contract that on the surface looked like a 0,0 and 2 contract, but digging further revealed far more! So much more that the NDP and the BCTF were accused on using “new math”, math were 0,0 and 2 no longer equalled 2, it actually equalled and the terms of the agreement brought forth comments about the NDP’s new math, new math where 0,0 and 2, no longer equalled 2, but in fact equalled 11.
So, in the NDP and BCTF world, things are ok when 0 + 0 + 2 = 11!
I can admit that the BC Liberals are now kissing the BCTF’s butt! Why can’t you admit that the BCTF and the NDP screwed the taxpayers over bigtime back in 1999?
karmann, even the incoming NDP Premier Ujjal Dosanjh called the deal unaffordable!
Carole Taylor, who served as President of the B.C. School Trustees Association for an unprecedented five terms, commencing in 1995, also called the deal unaffordable. She later went on to lead the NDP!
These two and many many more called the sweetheart deal unaffordable but none wanted to take on the militant and greedy BCTF!
Dispute this if you can!
karmann, no response? Guess you can’t dispute my comment!
BeingHuman, even you haven’t bothered to copy and paste something! Amazing!
“Carole Taylor, who served as President of the B.C. School Trustees Association for an unprecedented five terms, commencing in 1995, also called the deal unaffordable. She later went on to lead the NDP!”
ht tp://www.broadcasting-history.ca/index3.html?url=http%3A//www.broadcasting-history.ca/personalities/personalities.php%3Fid%3D368/
Smoke another one. Cause you gotta be stoned.
Carole Taylor was the leader of the NDP? That’s a gooder right there.
Oh and here is another gooder compliments of Carole Taylor and the BC Liberals,
“On February 19, 2008, then-BC Liberal finance minister Carole Taylor tabled the province’s 2008-09 budget — her last before quitting politics — and said she was wiping out B.C.’s corporation capital tax.
For years the big banks had lobbied to have the hated tax abolished, but to no avail. Indeed, over the past three-and-a-half decades, governments of every political stripe — NDP, Social Credit and BC Liberal — have seen the corporation capital tax as a way for British Columbians to share in the enormous profits earned in this province by Canada’s largest banks.”
That decision cost govt coffers 100 million a year in lost taxes.
Carole Taylor then went on to earn up to $300,000.00 a year working for the Toronto Dominion Bank.
“That decision cost govt coffers 100 million a year in lost taxes.”
Disregard that sentence. It was actually in the hundreds of millions.
Oops, brain fart!
Carole Taylor should read Carole James!!!
Happy now?
For the teachers this is a blessing and a curse. By overwhelming support they are saying they got everything they asked for. Now if education outcomes don’t improve after being given the support they demanded who are they going to blame? The pressure to perform is on now. The taxpayer who is paying for this will expect results
I think the teachers saw an opportunity to get what they wanted in the middle of an election. The Liberals on the other hand wanted this issue off the table.
So in effect we had no meaningful negotiations, but rather a cave in by the Liberals.
Taxpayers cannot win with this type of format, because both sides are Government workers, both sides get paid by tax dollars, and both sides have little or no concern as to where the money comes from that puts bread on their table.
The only reason the Liberals fight the teachers at all, is because they are for all intents and purposes NDP supporters.
Perhaps what we need is an independent board that negotiates with Government workers and get (as best we can) politicians out of the process.
All negotiations with Government workers should have at the very least a number of taxpaying citizens with a fiscal responsibility mindset to be a part of the negotiations. We need people at these negotiations who can ask the simple question. How do you propose to pay for these demands??
I do not believe it was opportunistic. These negotiations came out of a court case that took 15 years or so to resolve and which the teachers eventually won. That means the government had little choice but to restore the provisions of the collective agreement they illegally trashed. It is as simple as that. From the governments perspective, of course, it is mostly window dressing to make them appear to be concerned about our public education system just before an election.
I largely agree that public sector employee negotiations need a new system. I did once propose such a system for health care workers which was based on matching increases to those in the unionised private sector, but it went nowhere. I think that more than “a fiscal responsibility mindset”, as you express it, is needed for those having influence on or participate in the negotiations. There should also be those concerned about the service levels provided to citizens so that money does not become the sole concern. After all, that is what led to the current situation in education in the first place, the total focus on saving money.
I also think we should keep in mind that taxes are not the only source of government income. Royalties from the sale of provincial assets like lumber and oil exploration leases, etc., which are owned by ALL citizens also make a major contribution to provincial finances. I don’t know how much that is, but it is likely over 30% or so. In other words, concern for taxpayers should not be the only concern, although as one I am quite interested in the impact on my income.
I agree with you Palopu! “Taxpayers” need to be at the table and need t have a say when negotiations are taking place!
Ammonra, regarding your comment about other sources of revenue such as reoyalties, etc., we need to ensure that these are used for the benefit of ALL British Columbians and that these revenues aren’t simply usurped by Government and Government workers for increased salaries and benefits!
Of course, government workers do not control how these revenues are spent. That is solely the prerogative of government.
So that taxpayers can be represented at the negotiating table, I hereby gladly volunteer my services as a taxpayer for that purpose.
We need actual taxpayers but thanks for volunteering
I am an actual taxpayer slinky, and have been for decades. I have paid thousands of dollars every year in income tax, sales tax, MSP premiums, Hydro payments, ICBC payments and lots and lots more.
Or are you using the word “taxpayer” as a code to mean a Mighty Tighty Righty, so lefties need not apply? After all, why would you want these taxpayers to be involved in negotiations if they are representing the views of voters in this province instead of only the self serving righties?
What a joke
Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2014 @ 11:18 PM by Hart Guy with a score of 0
Smooth, if you and your wife think the grass is greener in Alberta, you should go there!
There is NO teacher shortage in BC! I’m sure that someone in short order will step up to the plate to replace the both of you!
I hear that Wetaskiwin is nice! Be sure to send us a post card!
_______________________________________________________________________________
“Prince George school district already faces a teacher shortage and it’s hard to hire enough of them on call, said Richard Giroday, president of the Prince George Teachers Association. I think the government will have to develop some strategies for the North and will have to arrange some strategies to get teachers who have left education to come back,” Giroday said. “There is a shortage of teachers here and we have positions that have not been able to be filled.” ~ Vancouver Sun, January 6, 2017
There are so many other examples of Hart Guy not knowing what he is talking about, but why should I waste my time with someone who discredits himself?
You have to go all the way back to 2014 to find a post from Hart Guy and rebut it with a 2017 post? Think anything may have changed in those 30 months?
Your ability to copy and paste is admirable, your ability to have an original thought? Not so much.
What is 3 years when Hart Guy constantly harps on something that happened over 17 years ago? Nothing has changed in 30 months when it comes to teachers being treated with absolute contempt, by this government, and by people like Hart Guy, who actual made his disrespectful comment to a couple of teachers!
Why would anyone, who has spent 4 to 5 years at a university getting their degree in education (at their own considerable expense), stick around in BC where they are constantly harassed by the government and by bullies like Hart Guy?
It is my considered opinion that, through their disrespectful and hostile actions, the BC Liberals and their bully supporters, like Hart Guy, caused this teacher shortage!
Because they are harassed no matter where they go unless they work in the private school field. Check out what is going on in Nova Scotia right now. Why are their unions so hard to deal with one has to wonder
Oh BH, why are you sticking around here with bullies like me picking on you?
I’ll borrow a few words from Hahaha, words that I believe he has used on more than one occasion:
WaWaWa!
For those of you who read these comments, it’s all about levels of maturity, you can actually see the difference from one comment to the next.
If we had to write out our comments, rather than type them, some on here would be writing their comments full fisted in crayon.
Peeps, careful, your “holier than thou” attitude is taking up too much room in your skull and it isn’t leaving much room for your grandiosity!
“full fisted in crayon”, haha!
You really should tone it down! Some might get the impression that you are a bit of a poke with a needle, if you catch my drift!
Now, go google something that I posted from 2015 and 2016.
Cheers!
15 long year headache for us and the teachers are righteous fools!
The teachers got what they want!
I wonder what they will want next?
Any guesses on what it will be and how long it will take before their new demands start to surface?
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