Mediator walks away from talks between BCTF and government
Posted Aug 31, 2014 9:00 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RICHMOND (NEWS1130) – The BC teachers union says discussions were not over when veteran mediator Vince Ready walked away from talks aimed at ending a teachers strike.
The union has tweeted that its bargaining team has not left the table. “We have not given up,” Jim Iker, president of the BC Teachers’ Federation wrote in a press release.”As things stand now, the strike will continue, but we are still determined to get a deal before Sept. 2nd.”
Ready walked away from talks between British Columbia teachers and the province on Saturday, saying he had not been able to establish a framework for mediated negotiations. “I just don’t see an agreement here at this point.”
He is regarded as one of Canada’s top labour mediators and many were hoping that his involvement would help the two sides reach a deal both could agree upon.
The province’s 40,000 public school teachers went on strike two weeks before summer vacation in June, and ongoing job action had many worried the start of school would be put on hold indefinitely.
Now that Ready has left, Peter Cameron, the government’s negotiator, says the new school year will not start on Tuesday, adding both sides will wait for Ready to determine when they are close enough to resume discussions.
Premier Christy Clark also took to social media, saying government wants to have a fair deal as soon as possible, but it must be affordable for taxpayers.
Groups react badly to the news saying it’s “disappointing”
Patti Bacchus, the chair of the Vancouver School Board, is one of many people frustrated about the latest development.
“I’m incredibly disappointed that Vince Ready has left negotiations at least for now. I think we all had some optimism that having him there with the parties could maybe see a resolution and enable schools to open on Tuesday, of course that’s looking very unlikely.”
She acknowledges the issues being grappled with are complicated. “It’s a tough complex problem, and I would say this dispute has been many years coming with the court cases that we have seen play out relating to class size and composition, you know, this really goes back about 12 years.”
Gail Chaddock-Costello of the Langley Teachers Association shares a similar sentiment to Bacchus but she is not just disappointed, she is “annoyed at the government.” She says what teachers want as far as class size and composition is not unreasonable.
“We’ve been fighting in the court for 12 years. We’ve spent a lot of money. We have had two court wins. Why should teachers give up for the things that are near and dearest to their heart which is class size and composition…so that we can adequately provide the services for our children and services that children with special needs desperately need and that adequately provide for all the other children. We have paid for it with our salaries. We have given up contract money for it in the past. There is no way we’re walking away and leaving that on the table,” she explains.
Nicole Makohoniuk, President of the BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils wants Ready to take up the task once again for the sake of public education.
“We’re calling on Vince Ready to continue to be involved. We understand that both sides aren’t budging. We are just hoping that somebody will eventually budge and listen to the children, listen to the students. We feel their rights are being trampled on.”
She says students are being used as pawns, and believes parents need to speak up on their children’s behalf and is urging parents to get involved. “[We want teachers] to continue teaching, continue talking about it, but when it comes to classroom size and composition include parents in the conversations, inform us together, work together on this.”
Meanwhile, Iker maintains the union tried to kick start meaningful talks by dropping some proposals entirely and reducing others substantially. In total, the BCTF reduced its package by $125 million.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender released a statement, saying what the teachers are demanding would plunge BC into deficit and no mediator can bridge that gap. He wants the BCTF leadership to canvass their members about temporarily suspending their pickets so schools can open and teachers can go to work.
Minister of Education Peter Fassbender issued the following statement:
“Today veteran labour mediator Vince Ready determined that the parties are too far apart for mediation at this time.
“I’m very disappointed for students, parents and teachers. What should be a time of excitement and anticipation will instead be marked by frustration and uncertainty.
“I wish I could tell British Columbians when students will be back in school. But right now, I don’t see any quick or easy solutions.
“Everything we’ve tried to do was to have schools open on time and to reach a settlement. Unfortunately, the BCTF leadership has stubbornly refused every effort to reach a fair deal and they have even refused to give teachers a chance to vote on suspending the pickets while an agreement is mediated.
“Negotiating a settlement requires union leaders to stand in front of their members and explain what has been achieved at the bargaining table. 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.
“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.
“In the meantime, I want to encourage the BCTF leadership to canvass their members about temporarily suspending their pickets so schools can open and teachers can go to work.
“The gap is much bigger than what the BCTF has been making it out to be, which was that the parties were close on all matters except class size and composition. Over the past few days, it’s been a very different story behind closed doors.
“The union made no substantive effort to get anywhere near the zone on 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.
“It is wrong and misguided for the BCTF leadership to expect a bigger compensation package than all other public-sector workers simply because they are willing to shut down schools.
“Their demands would plunge B.C. into deficit. No mediator can bridge that kind of gap.
“There is also a big gulf on how to deal with learning conditions. The British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) is offering solutions that focus resources where they can best help students. The union, meanwhile, continues to seek rigid class size numbers and teacher ratios that only increase the number of teachers but won’t necessarily address the actual learning needs of students in classrooms.
“The BCTF says they want government to be ‘flexible.’ But what they really mean is that they want us to abandon our balanced budget. We are not going to go into debt, we are not going to raise taxes, and we are not going to be ‘flexible’ with our commitment to be fair and even-handed with all 300,000 B.C. public-sector workers.
“We’ve been very clear and consistent ever since BCPSEA tabled its comprehensive offer back in June. The package on the table is fair and reasonable – both in terms of teacher pay and on class composition – and it is very near the limit of what we can afford.
“It includes a six-year term to provide stability for the education system, a 7% wage increase that’s fully in line with increases already negotiated with other public-sector employees, and guaranteed supports for classroom needs through the Learning Improvement Fund.
“BCPSEA is offering to hard-wire into the contract additional protections on class size, a guarantee of at least $375 million over five years to address complex classroom needs, a stronger role for teachers in deciding how to spend these funds, and an ongoing fact-finding committee to make sure educators have the best possible information to guide these important decisions.
“We remain willing to explore puts and takes, reasonable moves here and there. But mediation is not going to shake loose tens of millions of dollars – let alone hundreds of millions – that we simply do not have.
“A prolonged strike is not going to change the basic fact that best possible deal for teachers is a negotiated agreement that falls in the same affordability zone as all the other agreements already negotiated with more than 150,000 B.C. public-sector workers.”
