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By Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Cloud hanging over back to school

Aug 29, 2019 | 9:55 AM

BACK TO SCHOOL is just around the corner, and while this should be a time of excitement for both students and their parents, there is a bit of a cloud hanging over this school year.

On June 30, the five-year collective agreement with teachers came to an end.

This means without a signed contract, we could return to a period of escalating job action that could interrupt the academic year and the plans of older students in particular, who aim to qualify for post-secondary programs.

While the NDP likes to think they are closely aligned with the teachers, the BC Teachers Federation has already launched a negative ad campaign accusing Premier John Horgan and his Education Minister Rob Fleming of going back on their promise to hand-over control of class-size and composition.

Even though the BCTF and the NDP have elected eight days of mediated negotiations, there still remains a number of sticking-points that may still unravel.

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Smaller classrooms are leading to a higher demand for teachers, especially in rural communities in the central interior and in the north.

The BCTF argues that the teacher shortage is due in large part to B.C. having the second-lowest starting wage in the country.

The problem is NDP Finance Minister Carole James is insisting that all public employees, including the teachers, work within a 2-2-2 framework that has been applied other public sector unions like the nurses, doctors and government employees, who have already signed onto their agreements.

This means wage increases are limited to two per cent annually over the course of the next three years.

While two thirds of B.C.’s 330,000 unionized public-sector employees have already signed contracts, this appears to be a potential obstacle in teacher negotiations.

In different parts of the province, the NDP has fallen far short of their election promise of eliminating portable classrooms in Surrey within four years. The reality is that population growth has led to a 30 per cent increase in portables just to keep up with one of the fastest growing communities in the lower mainland, and the BCTF see this as a betrayal of values.

Parents might take some comfort in the fact that BCTF president Teri Mooring went on record to say that teachers would not consider job action before school begins.

However, If this week’s talks do not result in a deal, Mooring warns that the next step “would be to have some difficult conversations with our members.”

Parents and students deserve to know classes will not be interrupted this year and John Horgan and the NDP have a duty to provide certainty.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.