It doesn’t matter much who comes to the bargaining table, they had better be ready to discuss making a deal.
That’s the short explanation of where local teachers stand after the province recently announced it had done away with the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) in favour of hashing out an agreement directly with a government representative.
“The biggest issue, whether it’s as a direct negotiator for the government or not, you have to have the resources in order to make a deal at the bargaining table, no matter who it is,” said Al Klassen, president of the Richmond Teachers’ Association. “If the government holding the purse strings says there’s absolutely no money in the system and we’re not interested in settling on anything, other than wage rollbacks, then that becomes a huge problem.”
In a posting on the province’s Ministry of Education website it states the move to have Michael Marchbank — CEO of the Health Employers’ Association of B.C. — assume all responsibilities of the BCPSEA board of directors is a temporary one to ensure “government can advance its plans to restructure the K-12 bargaining process and its mandate to secure a long term deal with the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation.”
Despite the new minister of education’s statement that school trustees, who have been serving as BCPSEA directors, have been invited to remain in an advisory capacity to government, the RSA’s Klassen is not convinced that’s good enough.
He is concerned there will no longer be a direct connection back to the communities with the elimination of school trustees from direct negotiations.
“I would argue if you have people from the system negotiating, they have a direct tie-back,” he said. “(School trustees) are the ones who hear from their employees (teachers), as well as the public they are representing. They are not as far removed from the system as somebody appointed.”
Klassen added trustees also bring to the bargaining table more realistic expectations of what can be done to strike a deal.
“You’re better off with a negotiating team composed of people direct from the employer, than a single representative appointed by the government.”
School trustee Debbie Tablotney, who is vice chairperson of the local Board of Education, said the elimination of the BCPSEA came as a surprise and caused concern among fellow trustees.
“Our concerns were that we needed to have a voice at the table,” Tablotney said, adding that Richmond has yet to invited to provide any input at upcoming contract talks.
One main concern trustees want ensured at the negotiating table is that any increase agreed to be fully funded by the province.
Overall, Klassen said there have been so many cutbacks to education over the years that he finds it hard to remain optimistic a deal — let alone a 10-year agreement the government is pressing for — will be easily reached with teachers.
“We’ve had this current government in place now for 12 years, and they’ve pushed hard on public education as well as other sectors, and spent less and less money,” he said. “They are coming to the table with the mindset to keep all costs down, and don’t care that the cost of living is going up.”
The constant paring down has left B.C. teachers far down the list in terms of pay — eighth or ninth in the country — Klassen claims.
According to the BCPSEA, in 2011 B.C.’s teachers were fourth in Canada for both average starting salary ($47,461) and average maximum salary ($75,083).
Teachers in Alberta are recognized as being at the top for starting salaries ($54,347), while Ontario educators have the highest maximum salary ($90,096).
“We used to be third across the country and with our high living costs, it’s certain that we need reasonable wages in this province,” Klassen said. “We are now eighth, ninth to 10th, depending on who does the numbers. We’re well behind in terms of salary.”
It’s something that cannot be hidden anymore, Klassen said.
“And at some time you have to bite the bullet and increase the wages appropriately. And that’s for everybody, not just for teachers, all workers in either the private or public sector.”
Another issue being offered to teachers as they prepare to begin bargaining talks next month is the right to strike — something the government has said it will consider by removing teachers from the list of essential services.
It’s a move Klassen said makes sense.
“We’ve long argued that we’re not truly in the fold of essential services,” he said. “If you look at who is, across the country and world, basically the idea is reserved for people responsible for life and limb — firefighters, ambulance workers, police and medical staff.
“Can you equate life and limb with the education system — not really.”
As for striking a 10-year deal, Klassen said the lack a decade-long agreement elsewhere in the country is a clear indication it’s not feasible.
Even in Alberta, where Klassen said relations between government and teachers is much more amicable, both sides stepped away from a 10-year agreement because it was impossible to implement.
“There were too many unknowns at the 10-year state level,” he said.
“If they (B.C. government) came forward with a very competent class size, composition and compensation package, yes, teachers would not stand in the way of a 10-year deal. But these guys aren’t willing to put resources on the table even for a two or three-year deal. So, how can you trust that the government would be willing to do that for a 10-year deal.”
