The chess game continues as BC teachers prepare to vote on a full-scale walkout.
“We reduced our salary proposal as part of a series of significant moves at the bargaining table, but the government responded with nothing,” said BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) president Jim Iker.
But the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCSEA) says the union’s demands still add up to approximately four times what other public sector workers have negotiated.
Iker noted the strike vote is needed to demonstrate to government that teachers are determined to achieve gains on salary, class size limits and more support for students who need extra help. Iker said teachers last got a raise in July 2010.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender said the BCTF’s plans to escalate to a full walkout in no way changes the government’s resolve to reach an agreement by the end of June.
Fassbender admitted that teachers deserve a raise, but the parties are far apart on wages and benefits.
Teachers will vote on June 9-10 to determine if a full-scale walkout will occur. The next one-day strike in School District 53 is slated for Friday, June 13. Photo by Lyonel Doherty
He noted that a fair wage offer is on the table, including a special $1,200 signing bonus if an agreement is reached before the end of June.
The BCTF lowered its wage demand by one per cent. Teachers are now requesting a 12 per cent raise over four years, but the government is offering about seven per cent over six years.
A full strike is only going to keep more students out of their classrooms and create more disruption for parents, Fassbender said.
But the co-chair of the Parents Advisory Council for Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver is worried.
“I think the biggest concern is students, especially in grades 10, 11 and 12, missing valuable hours in the last few weeks of the school year when they are trying to catch up with work, better their grades or prepare for provincial exams,” said Bibiana Bailey.
She isn’t sure how provincial exams will be affected at this point, but she noted that many Grade 12 students are upset about their teachers not being involved in graduation ceremonies.
“They all worked hard to get to this point and not being able to share it with the people who helped them to get there is not fair. It’s not fair to the students or the teachers.”
Bailey said she heard through the grapevine that teachers may be part of the ceremonies and volunteer their time as citizens, not as educators.
“My hat goes off to all these teachers.”
But for now, parents want their children back in class without further disturbance, Bailey said.
And so do teachers, according to Ernie Millward, vice-president of the South Okanagan Similkameen Teachers’ Union.
He pointed out that teachers really want to see a resolution by the end of June, and will work towards that goal.
“Teachers are fixers by nature. We’re not looking for conflict.”
Millward said the government’s partial lockout of teachers has put them in an uncomfortable position. For example, teachers are not supposed to assist students before and after school, and during lunch and break time. But Millward indicated that teachers are still helping students during these times because it’s their nature. Yet the government is still taking 10 per cent off teachers’ paycheques, a move that the Labour Relations Board approved in a recent ruling.
The board said that if people are partially withdrawing their services it is appropriate that there should be a partial reduction in their wages.
Millward said the pay reduction is having a significant impact on teachers, some of whom are having to “re-arrange their finances.”
Teachers expect a reasonable wage increase in order to keep up with inflation. Saying that teachers make too much money is a “scapegoat argument,” Millward said.
He noted that it takes 11 years before a teacher reaches the top of the pay scale. The average salary for an established teacher in BC is $75,000.
Millward said teachers are not seeing students’ needs being met in the classroom, especially for those who need extra help.
The educator pointed out there are far fewer mechanisms today to trigger extra funding to help at-risk children compared to the money that was available 10 years ago. For example, the pool of funding that used to help six at-risk students 10 years ago is only helping one student today, Millward said.
The next one-day strike in School District 53 is set for Friday, June 13.
By Lyonel Doherty
