Dr. Charles Jago, the mediator appointed to handle the teachers' labour dispute, acknowledged he faces a tough task during a conference call Wednesday.
"When I was first approached I described it as mission impossible, so I think there are enormous barriers and the parties have not been able to agree in the past," said Jago, a former president of the University of Northern British Columbia. "And there's a sorry record of negotiations going back almost 20 years. So am I hopeful? I can't say that I am, but will I give it an honest try? I will certainly say that I will do that."
Pressed about his attitude going into mediation, Jago said the mediation's success depends on the attitude of the negotiating parties-the B.C. Teachers' Federation and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association. "If you look at the historical record it would be naïve to say I'm coming in with the view I can solve all of these outstanding problems because they are endemic. They're longstanding and there have been a number of reports by mediators about the dysfunction of the negotiating system with respect to the teachers in the province," he said.
Jago authored the 2006 report Working Together to Improve Performance: Preparing B.C.'s Public Education System for the Future and has held academic appointments in Canadian universities for more than 40 years. At UNBC, he initiated the development of the Northern Medical Program. He's being paid $2,000 per day he works as mediator. He isn't a member of a political party, but acknowledged he paid (less than $1,000) to take part in two B.C. Liberal golf tournament fundraisers. He maintains he's independent.
Education minister George Abbott said Jago has skills needed to make progress in negotiations. "Anyone who knows Dr. Jago knows he is of an independent mind," Abbott said. The mediation period runs to June 30. If there's no agreement by that date, Jago will issue a report with non-binding recommendations.
BCTF president Susan Lambert questioned Jago's experience and the process. She wasn't aware of the golf tournament donations and said she's "really at a loss to explain what kind of process we're in."
"We've got a very restricted mandate that only looks, it seems to me, at strips to the collective agreement."
[email protected] Twitter: @Naoibh
