BCTF School Staff Alert	2011-12 # 12
January 17, 2012	PDF format

New reduced package to kick-start negotiations tabled

In an effort to break the logjam in the ongoing labour dispute, today the BC Teachers’ Federation is bringing a new reduced package of proposals to the provincial bargaining table. With this package, the BCTF has moved significantly from its opening position, dropping some initial proposals altogether and trimming others.

The package tabled today proposes a three-year agreement, with a salary increase based on a cost of living allowance in the first year, and COLA plus market adjustments over the next two years:

• Year 1:              3% COLA plus 0%
• Years 2 and 3:  3% COLA plus 3% market adjustment

The package also proposes modest improvements to benefits, which have not changed in 18 years, and to preparation time, which is crucial to providing students with individual attention and learning tailored to special needs.

The overall cost would be about $300 million, a far cry from the enormously exaggerated figures that have repeatedly been put out by BCPSEA.

BCTF President Susan Lambert urged government and the employer to look at the evidence of the large and growing gap between the salaries of BC teachers and their counterparts in the rest of Canada. “If they do, they’ll understand why our members overwhelmingly reject net zero,” she said. Teachers in Alberta make $20,000 more than in BC, while those in Ontario make $15,000 more. BC teachers have taken zeros in recent years, and more would simply widen the income gap.

The BCTF is calling on Education Minister George Abbott to stop disavowing any responsibility for the outcome of the negotiations and give BCPSEA a new mandate to reach a fair settlement.  If he is truly sincere about respecting teachers he needs to stop hinting at a legislated settlement and acknowledge the value of a negotiated agreement in beginning to rebuild the relationship between BC teachers and the provincial government.

To read the revised bargaining proposal go to: http://mybctf.ca

Negotiate don’t legislate!