BC presses ahead with long-term teacher contract

VICTORIA (NEWS1130) – Education Minister Peter Fassbender has suspended talks between BC’s public school teachers and the negotiating arm of government as he overhauls the bargaining process.

Fassbender has scrapped the mandate of the BC Public School Employers Association, which represented government in talks with teachers, and replaced it with a single negotiator.

Peter Cameron will now lead a provincial team working toward a 10 year deal with teachers and the BC School Trustees Association.

The change means five months of contract talks between the BCPSEA and BCTF have been halted, although Fassbender says work done to date will “inform” his ministry’s future positions.

He also says, the pause in talks is only temporary and is a necessary step toward the teachers’ federation desire to bargain directly with government on provincial issues.

However, he says before negotiations can resume, all sides must create a road map toward a 10 year deal, something the BCTF is already on record as opposing.

BC Teachers Federation calls today’s move a surprise

Susan Lambert says the two sides were making progress in bargaining.

“Talks at the table were actually productive, we were signing off on clause language and having respectful negotiations. The process of bargaining is not broken, what is broken is government’s refusal to adequately fund the system.”

While the union has come out against a proposed 10 year deal, Lambert now says she’s not opposed to the idea as long as the terms are right. “We, as much as anyone else, want stability and peace in the classroom, but we also want conditions under which we can effectively teach. We cannot abide a locked in decade of deteriorating conditions.”

As for what parents should think as they head into the summer break – Lambert is urging them to get involved in the discussion by contacting their local politician.