The Monday after Labour Day is usually an exciting time for students going back into the classroom and beginning a new year. This year, however, an impasse between teachers and the provincial government is keeping this from happening.
Talks between the British Columbia Teachers Federation and the provincial government broke down at 5:30 p.m. August 30 as labour mediator Vince Ready walked out of negotiations between the two parties, saying they were too far apart in their demands to come to any compromise at this time.
Minister of Education Peter Fassbender said he wished he knew when students would be back in school, but that the union has made no effort to “get anywhere near the zone” with regard to wages and benefits.
“Their moves were so small that their compensation demands remain nearly double what 150,000 other B.C. public-sector workers have settled for. They even insist on a special $5,000 signing bonus that no one else received,” he said, calling it misguided for teachers to expect bigger compensation packages than all other workers in the public sector.
On a statement on its Facebook page, the BCTF said while the government took proposal E81, which would allow either party to unilaterally terminate any collective agreement that would result from a court decision, off the table, they weren’t moving on proposal E80. E80, said the BCTF, “would replace any and all language around class size/composition that we might win back through the courts. They want to negate the court win before it even happens.
“Ready made it clear that there are fundamental barriers to getting a deal, or any sort of framework,” said a statement on the BCTF’s Facebook page. “Government is not willing to simply accept whatever the court decides. They want a court case escape clause by having E80 over-ride any court win.”
Fassbender also said that one reason they aren’t budging is that union leaders don’t want to have to explain to their members what has been achieved in bargaining.
“I worry the BCTF leadership is actually counting on government to legislate an end to this strike so they can avoid having a difficult conversation with their members about what is realistic and achievable,” Fassbender said.
“Legislating an end to the dispute is the wrong thing to do. It would only keep us on the same dysfunctional treadmill that we’ve been on for the past 30 years. As hard as it is, we have to stand firm and hope the union leadership comes around to getting serious about negotiating a fair agreement.”
The BCTF said it is “willing, ready and able to be at the table this week,” saying it is committed to making a deal before September 2.
Teachers across B.C. have been on strike since mid-June. Fassbender is calling on teachers to suspend their pickets so teachers can go back to work.
