03) B.C. TEACHERS OVERWHELMINGLY BACK JOB ACTION
By Kimball Cariou
A dispute reaching back over a decade between the B.C. Liberal government and public school teachers continues to play out, in the wake of two court rulings which found that the province has failed to bargain in good faith.
Over 29,300 British Columbia teachers took part in a March 4-6 vote to authorise strike action if necessary, with 26,051 voting "yes", an overwhelming 89% of the total.
"With this vote, BC teachers have sent a very clear message to the BC government; it's time to negotiate in good faith, take back the unreasonable proposals, and offer teachers a fair deal that also provides better support for students," BCTF President Jim Iker said.
Contrary to "leaked" reports of an imminent strike, Iker stressed that no immediate action is planned.
"Teachers now have 90 days to activate the strike vote with some sort of action," said Iker. "There is no set timing for when we will begin. It will depend entirely on what is happening at the negotiating table and whether or not the government and employers' association are prepared to be fair and reasonable.... We will work very hard to get that negotiated settlement without any job action. A strike vote is a normal process in labour relations and helps apply pressure to both parties during negotiations."
Iker outlined that any initial job action will be administrative, and not include school closures or disruption of learning. Teachers will still participate in extracurricular activities, and report cards and communication with parents will continue.
If talks stall or the government does not move on key areas, at some point job action could escalate into rotating strikes. But any full‑scale walkout would require another province‑wide vote of the BCTF membership.
"Teachers voted so overwhelmingly in favour because the government has tabled unfair and unreasonable proposals that would undo the class size, class composition, and specialist teacher staffing levels we just won back in a BC Supreme Court Ruling," said Iker. "The employer's salary offer is also less than what was given to other public sector workers and ignores how far BC teachers have fallen behind their colleagues across Canada."
Two Liberal premiers, Gordon Campbell and now Christy Clark, have waged continual war against teachers, tearing up negotiated collective agreements during their first term in office. As a result of Liberal underfunding, school boards have closed nearly 200 schools, and thousands of critical teaching positions have not been filled.
Those hardest hit by the cuts include students with language and learning disabilities, since school boards lack the funds to employ enough teachers to address their needs. The court rulings found that the Liberals must bargain on class composition issues, but the government has basically ignored the courts.
One government tactic has been to spread confusion about the average salary of BC teachers, claiming that their incomes are near the Canadian average. This was quickly exposed as a lie, since the phony numbers included principals and other high-paid out of scope staff.
The Liberals have also denied court findings that they deliberately tried to provoke a teacher strike in the previous round of bargaining. However, information from the BC Public School Employers Association (the Boards) reveals that a deal with the BCTF was nearly done when the Liberals stepped in to scuttle such an agreement before last year's provincial election.
(The above article is from the March 16-31, 2014, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)