Government's In, Employers In...Just Up to Teachers

Friday, October 21, 2005 01:55 PM

The Provincial Government has accepted the recommendations put forth by facilitator Vince Ready. The employer, the B.C. Public School Employers Association has just announced it accepts the package:

“The BCPSEA Board of Directors has voted on and approved the recommendations provided to the parties by Vince Ready last night,” said Ron Christensen, Chair of the BCPSEA.

“Mr. Ready has presented a positive framework to move forward on educational policy and collective bargaining matters,” said Christensen. “We’re encouraged that both government and the BCTF have indicated that they also intend to accept the recommendations.”

Teachers all across the province are expected to vote this weekend on whether or not they will accept the recommendations. Here in Prince George, the PG District Teachers Association ballot will be held Saturday, but results won't be announced until all districts have voted, and those results are not expected until later on Sunday.

School District 57 Board Chair, Bill Christie has said in the past, the District would need at least 24 hours notice of the teachers planned return to the classroom in order to make sure they could notify parents and have busses running.

BCPublic School Employers Association Chair Ron Christensen is looking forward to moving on It’s time to put this dispute behind us and focus on the work that Mr. Ready has set out for us. There will be many opportunities over the coming months for the parties to work together on some key issues, including structural changes to the bargaining system that will be undertaken with Mr. Ready as an Industrial Inquiry Commissioner.”

The dispute has cost the BCTF in fines. This morning, Supreme Court Justice Brenda Brown fined the union $500,000.00 for failing to obey the back to work orders. Justice Brown said the fine would have been higher had there not been a glimmer of hope the teachers could be returning to work Monday. She based the fine on a similar scenario involving the HEU, but says in that case (where the Union was fined $150,000.00) the union maintained essential services, apologized to the court, and only disobeyed once.

The fine will be given to charity.

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Posted on Friday, October 21, 2005 01:55 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: supertech on October 21 2005 3:47 PM

Who hired Mr Ready for this job? Where do you suppose his loyalty is? I would almost bet that in a round-about way, said charity will be Vince Ready's account.

Posted by: Jethro on October 21 2005 4:54 PM

Christ...!

Will you people stop being so paranoid...!!

The 'Government' is US... not some alien lifeform.

People vote, individuals get elected to office, political flavours come and go with time...

If people spent HALF the time working on our common goals as BC residents as they do complaining about 'the Government, or being suspicious of it, we might actually get somewhere.

Posted by: ammonra on October 21 2005 6:07 PM

All along the teachers said they went into the protest with their eyes open, so I suspect they are not all that upset, and are just going to take their lumps. I'm more interested in seeing what happens during the nexr contract bargaining, whether anything was learned.

Posted by: lou on October 21 2005 11:17 PM

Hope the BCTF don't give in. Two weeks for nothing if they do.As a CUPE member-I also lost 2 weeks pay.

Posted by: palomino on October 22 2005 2:09 PM

Its easy to blame the teachers for this disaster, but they are simply pawns being used by the unions in this Province to fight the next election. It doesn't matter which Government is in power, it'll be attacked relentlessly until the union leaders get back in power and regain control of the Province. They are masters at manipulating the general public to achieve their own goals, and have proven time and again they will stop at nothing, including trying to shut down the entire Province until they get what they want. Its frightening to see that they now consider themselves above the laws as well, and will now ignore whatever laws they don't like.
I wonder what the big investors outside this Province think of all this.
Would you be rushing to sink big money into BC after this display from the workforce?

Posted by: Jethro on October 22 2005 4:43 PM

Exactly Palimino...!

This idea that there's this nebulous, evil 'Government' that's out there trying to break the Little Guy is such garbage.

Big Labour knows exactly how to stir public sentiment against an imaginary enemy.

And they do it for themselves... period.

Posted by: supertech on October 23 2005 11:07 AM

Watch what happens next year. There will be 45 kids in a class because the teachers are moving to Alberta. 10 grand a year more in pay right now and no 7% provincial theft, class sizes that matter, cheaper gas, a government that actually governs.

Posted by: palomino on October 23 2005 3:35 PM

Which is exactly what happened when the Province went into a ten year nosedive under the NDP.
I remember very well the union uproar in Alberta when Ralph Klein came to power.
Fortunately, they didn't succeed in "rousting" him before his government made the Province the envy of the rest of Canada.