People sure get upset when their BABYSITTERS GO ON stike. Remember they are Teachers NOT babysitters.

Some of the babies drive bigger cars then the baby sitters.

Defying the labour laws in this fashion starts to show the true purpose of "strikes". Anything less than that is just play acting. Even the current situation still borders on that. Each party is virtually locked into the actions that have been taken so far. No party is interested in backing down at this stage, so it is still escalation time. Each has to weigh at each next step whether the next move will be positive or negative for their cause. At the same time, each can still lay claim that they are taking the actions only to assist the students in the system.

The issue that I have is the teachers are always reactive when it comes to labour issues, why can’t they justify the increase in wages that they feel they merit. Simply stating a comparison to other jurisdictions does not cut it for me, there are too many other intangibles with that comparison. If the work environment is that attractive in other provinces then move. Educated individuals should be able to work with the collective to find a rational solution to the issues at hand. If the BCTF has determined that negotiations with the government are unreasonable then map out an effective strategy through the court of public opinion.
Demands and a subsequent reactionary illegal walk out is not the way to sway public opinion in your favour.

I wish to provide my opinion about the comment of "where does it end".

I think there really needs to be debate about what is an "essential" service.

As far as I am concerned, unless life or limb are potentially harmed due to the service being withheld, it is not an essential service.

Thus those working in law enforcement and health and medical services and services provided to the infirm, etc. should belong in that category of worker. There are several others, such as those who maintain municipal sewage systems, garbage pickup, etc. which, if left to fester too long, could raise a public health issue.

I am afraid that teaching is far removed from that type of definition of "essential" in my scheme of things.

We have become far too reliant on "teachers" to educate ourselves. "teachers" are only one side of the equation. We need to do much more in this country about the "learner" side of the education process. I really do think too many people "use" teachers for their babysitting services, including the education system itself.

The system in North America in general has disintegrated to such an extent that teachers simply are not considered to be the professions which they are. They really are only servants who take care of our kids for a decade or more rather than consultants who provide us with advice on ho to educate our children.

I mean, do hospital administrators decide what medical procedures a patient should receive or does your doctor do that? Should you and your child rely on teachers for best the advice on becoming educated or should you be sitting down with the school Board or Education Ministry? Do teachers learn anything about teaching while they receive an education and from their years of experience, or are they somehow a lesser profession than doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, foresters, certified accountants, etc. etc.

It is sometiems good to look at some other places in the world to comapre local situations. Did you know that there are almost twice as many teachers per student in the German public school sytem as there are in BC? Children typically start school at 8 am and are out by 1pm. Much of the afternoon is devoted to doing real homework. There is more of a recognition that "education" is not only the part where the horse is led to the water, but that the horse must be interested in drinking. If the system is failing, I think it is that latter part which we need to take a closer look at in this country. That part falls directly to our own parenting skills.

"The issue that I have is the teachers are always reactive when it comes to labour issues"

A fair comment. To which my response is thast I have found throughout my life that people are generally well meaning and one group is typically not much different from another group. Canadian society is typically quite complacent.

Also, given that the "problem" has apparently been there through both an NDP and Liberal government, it would seem to me that there is no meeting of minds between two "reasonable" parties. Thus, there would seem to be a fundamental flaw in the system.

I think one needs to look no further than the fact that teachers are the only profession put into this untenable position. While the government states that they have successfully negotiated with hundreds of other bargaining units across the province, there is not a single one which is in any way similar to the teachers.

Anyone working for the BCGEU, for isntance, can leave that employment if they are not happy with it and step right into a private sector equivalentcy. We do not have enough private schools to allow tht to happen. Maybe that would be the solution. Government own the infrastructure, set a standard and bid out the service to private corporations. It has been done with highways and a number of other situations. Is that where this is heading? Is that where society wants it it head?

It would be a radical change, and any radical change is typically filled with rouhg transitions, but I am objective enough to be interested in taking a closer look at it.

Whether it is a panacea or not, I really do not know.

I do not believe that teachers are unique in their telationship with government. Health care workers are in a similar position, and have received similar treatment. Witness the cancelled collective agreements, and refusal to adhere to binding arbitration awards. like teachers, health care workers can't go anywhere else, except another jurisdiction. Contrary to what many appear to think, this is not a viable option for many for personal and family reasons.

It is easy for government to target groups who essentially have no defence, enact unfair and repressive legislation then appeal to tribunals set up to enforce that legislation and have actions deamed illegal. Technically that is the case, but how often have we heard complaints about how technicalities lead to injustice. Such is the case here. It is far more difficult to approach public sector employees in a fair manner and reach equitable agreements with them.

I suggest that the problem is not with the teachers but with governments oppressive approach to saving tax dollars for distribution to their friends in industry.

What is needed, if we are going to insist thaat some public sector employees are essential and can't withdraw services, is to have an enforcable means of reaching collective agreements through an independent and arms length tribunal which government must obey, instead of using its overwhelming legal power to distort free collective bargaining.

This provincial government are a bunch of communists. Anything they don't like.....Right or wrong they change the laws to their way of thinking. Hang in there teachers, it's time for a raise instead of the Liberals giving all the money to the big corporations in the way of tax cuts.

I have had 3 children go through the public school system and about 1 out of 4 teachers are worth the money they get paid. There are good teachers and there are the ones that are in it only for the money. $30.00 an hour is pretty good money when you also get 2 months a year off. These people chose their profession. They knew the wages when they started the profession and if they didn't like it, then perhaps they should have been a lawyer or doctor. This union should be fined for every day they are off and the leader sent to jail for defying the law.

Certainly keeping the school's running is an essential service. It is has been a government service since they took it away from the priests. If it is not essential try doing without it, or give it back to the priests and private tutors.
What's all the crap about comparing teachers to engineers and doctors? Teachers are part of the fluffy arts like social workers or prison guards.
The big ego the BCTF has comes from the power their members have over the lives of moms and children.

YDPC .... I like that ..."fluffy asrts stuff like prison guards" ..... ROTFLOL

Hey .. Starbucks is an essential service too .... ;-) .... so is making toilet paper .... distributing it ... stocking it on the shelves ... and selling it .....

How about them Cougars, eh??!!

ammonra ... you are quite right, of course, about some of the health care workers ... especially nurses and technicians ....

I was just thinking of doctors and feel they are much better able to take care of themselves than the teachers ...

Prison guards, as mentioned by YDPC would also be included .... there are certainly others, but I suspect when one looks at total numbers, the majority of government employees could find work in the private sector doing similar work.

It's sort of like NAFTA .... there are rules, including negotiation rules when it comes to disputes ....

the problem is that both parties must continue to abide by those rules .... NAFTA has show that that does not necessarily happen ....

If you are going to ask teachers to quit and move away if they don't like the wages here, then why don't we ask parents and kids to move to a new place if they don't like the education system here? Thats just a ludicrous as asking teachers to move away. With the present government action, and public apathy or even outright disdain, teaching is going to become a second class profession. We won't be able to attract anyone good to the field, and you will be left with the lowest common denominator. At least in my school, we have a lot of caring and involved parents that are supporting us fully