Education minister George Abbott announced Thursday the provincial government is preparing legislation to resolve the teachers contract dispute after months of negotiations proved fruitless.
The B.C. Teachers Federation has been in contract talks with the B.C. Public School Employers Association (BCPSEA), which is operating under a mandate of no new money being available, but no progress has been made. Teachers launched a teach-only campaign at the start of the school year. Since then, they have not prepared report cards, met with administrators or participated in school board committee meetings.
Two weeks ago, the government appointed Trevor Hughes, assistant deputy minister for industrial relations, to determine whether a negotiated agreement is possible.
Hughes found it unlikely.
The history of the last 30 years of collective bargaining between the two parties have been characterized by what are termed legislated solutions, Abbott said in a conference call. Only in 2006 did we see a successful agreement concluded. That was fine but it is obvious that in this case it is not going to occur and that, Im afraid, is reminiscent of the pattern that has been there for now going on 30 years.
Abbott said he was disappointed because hed hoped to build a better relationship with the teachers federation and to turn a corner on long-standing problems between the union and government.
He noted that hes been very concerned about the lack of report cards and collaborative meetings, particularly with respect to the effect on special needs and vulnerable students. Teachers have argued that theyve had more time to spend with students since theyre not distracted by administrative duties.
But Abbott called the labour dispute unacceptable.
The parties have been at the table for a year. There have been 78 face-to-face bargaining sessions and the parties remain as far apart today, or very close to as far apart today, as they were a year ago. Im not prepared to see this go on very much longer.
Hes asked his staff to prepare legislation that will resolve the dispute without providing more money, but couldnt provide a timeline or other information because details are sill being worked out.
Abbott said mediation is possible on issues other than money.
The teachers federation is looking for over $2 billion. Thats not something that one constructively introduces a mediator into, Abbott said. That having been said there are non-monetary issues in this dispute, which I think may benefit from participation of a mediator. That is an issue in days and hours ahead well look at very closely, which may form part of any bill or bills that come before government in the legislature.
When asked what his decision will do to teacher morale and the governments poor relationship with the BCTF, Abbott said he expects mixed reviews.
In some cases teachers will be upset by this. In some cases teachers will probably be relieved by this. I know the phase one of the job action has been very difficult for teachers, as well as students and parents, he said. So I expect there would probably be a range of emotions around this. The union leadership will take a dim view of it. That having been said, Im not prepared as minister of education to let a dispute among adults become something for which kids pay the price for in the short, medium and long term.
BCTF president Susan Lambert said she was disappointed by Hughes findings, but there was some predictability to the outcome of his report.
But Im very frustrated and disappointed with Minister Abbotts reaction. He seems very, very desperate to rush through legislation and I dont understand the haste, she said. Teachers are teaching, students are learning. Weve kept this job action as far away from the classroom as we can and still make a point. Children are getting assessed. Their progress is being reported to parents, so why the haste to make the situation worseto inflame the situation when he has choices.
Lambert said the BCTF called for mediation on Monday and were waiting to hear if BCPSEA would accept the invitation.
If not, the teachers federation was going to ask the Labour Relations Board to unilaterally appoint a mediator and the federation would even consider arbitration should that fail.
Lambert seemed surprised when told about Abbotts comments on mediation during the conference call.
Why not have a mediator on these issues now, she said. At least then we would identify the issues that we could mediate. Weve put creative solutions on the table. Weve suggested, for example, we go for a longer term in order to see if we could address the issues that government is raising and BCPSEA has refused to engage in those kinds of discussions. So if we had a mediator on everything else and then we maybe worked directly with government like they did with nurses and with CUPE on the salary issue, maybe theres a way to find our way out of this dispute in a respectful way.
Twitter: @Naoibh
