Over the years, the pay gap between teachers and principals has narrowed in most districts. The agreement negotiated with the help of a mediator includes: however, principals, principals and vice-principals were excluded from this system and therefore could no longer negotiate with teachers. In some provinces, such as Alberta and Saskatchewan, principals and vice-principals are part of the same bargaining unit as teachers, and only one collective agreement applies to teachers, principals and vice-principals. The agreement was voted on online over a three-day period, as current events prohibited teachers from meeting in local schools or district offices. B.C. teachers voted in favour of a new three-year collective agreement with the provincial government. Currently, about 300,000 public sector workers – 90% – are covered by interim or ratified agreements concluded under B.C`s sustainable services negotiation mandate. READ MORE: Breach of contract for B.C teachers. Teachers have not been to class due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but are still working. In a press release, the B.C. government said members of the BC Public School Employers` Association (BCPSEA) and the BC Teachers` Federation (BCTF) have ratified an agreement under the government`s sustainable services bargaining mandate. These important changes to B.C.`s labour legislation included teachers in the general rules of industrial relations and enabled the B.C.
Obtaining the status of a powerful union of 44,000 members granted a clear, albeit limited, right to strike and lockout teachers, and broadened the scope of negotiable issues. The provisional agreement was reached after more than a year of negotiations between the two sides. B.C. Teachers have ratified a new three-year agreement that provides for general rate increases of two percent per year. The southeast Kootenay directors` request to the Labour Relations Board was something that had never happened before. To understand what led to this, one must understand the industrial relations problems of the B.C. School District, which date back about 34 years. At that time, local teachers and principals were negotiating with their school districts. The collective agreement between the British Columbia Teachers` Federation (BCTF), which represents teachers in the province`s public schools, and the BC Public School Employers` Association (BCPSEA), which represents the province`s 60 public education organizations, expired on June 30, 2019. The provincial government says about 300,000 public sector employees are now covered by interim or ratified agreements.
Recent negotiations between the province and the teachers` union have been difficult. The union was concerned about total salaries and the hiring of teachers in remote areas of the province and areas where the cost of living was high. #BCed Teachers voted to ratify the new collective agreement. After 3 days and nights of online voting, we can announce that the new collective agreement has been adopted with 98% yes.
31,838 BCTF members voted for31,087
voted for751
voted against#bcpoli common thread: pic.twitter.com/pRVPSHP0gS Since then, the BCTF has been very successful in improving teachers` working conditions. Working hours, meeting days, class sizes and composition have been included in teachers` contracts, as have the right to strike, job security and the development of automatic and important guarantees against “less than satisfactory” assessments. The agreement includes more than 45,000 teachers represented by the B.C Teachers` Federation. The contract is retroactive to 1 July 2019 and runs until 30 June 2022. After a tabular vote, the new collective agreement was adopted by teachers with a majority of 98%. “What we were able to do was take the contract and make it a little more attractive to new teachers.” The agreement includes more than 45,000 teachers represented by the BCTF who provide education to students in the province`s 60 school districts. The B.C.
Teachers` Federation says the agreement has been ratified with 98% of its members. The agreement is part of the province`s public sector bargaining mandate, which limits wage increases to two per cent per year. Some 290,000 public sector workers are covered by provisional or ratified agreements concluded under this mandate. Mediator David Schaub presented his report and recommendations for an agreement between the British Columbia Public School Employers` Association and the British Columbia Teachers` Federation to the parties on November 1. The mediator gave a clear instruction that the details of the report remain confidential and asked both parties to inform him by the end of the day on Friday, November 8, 2019, whether their respective leaders would make a recommendation to their members to support the resolution recommendations contained in his report. The rooms knew this, and when it came to collective bargaining, guests and assistant managers were left out in the rain. Danyluk said an example of inequality is that the contracts of principals and vice-principals in Southeast Kootenay County do not include maternity leave provisions. “Many of the new vice-directors are young women: what happens to them when they decide to start a family?” Education Secretary Rob Fleming described the vote as “resounding” support for the new deal. The deal was announced Friday morning after 98 percent of members voted in favor. The mediator requested – and BCPSEA respects – a media blackout during the mediation process. On March 18, 2020, the Southeast Kootenay Principals` and Vice Principals` Association applied to the Labour Relations Board for exclusive bargaining partner certification for all principals, vice-principals and district principals employed in the Southeast Kootenay School District.
In the Southeast Kootenay School District, for example, the highest-paid teacher with a master`s degree, depending on the location of the school, receives a total salary of $92,978 to $97,693, while the lowest-paid principal (master`s degree required) receives $108,000. Mediator`s Recommendations for Settlement: At a glance, BCPSEA manages the three stages of the collective bargaining process between teachers and employers in public schools (school districts) – preparation, negotiation and implementation/administration. After more than 50 negotiation sessions and in an effort to engage the parties in meaningful and productive discussions, BCPSEA asked the Labour Relations Board (RDC) in June to appoint a mediator. The Board appointed David Schaub as mediator and the parties continued to meet at meetings in July and August with the support of Mr. Schaub and met 69 times in total since the start of negotiations until October 1, 2019. The app failed, but it remains to be seen whether the situation is a storm in a cup of tea or a sign of a storm gathering. B.C. principals and vice-principals are the only Canadian school administrators who are not entitled to collective representation in bargaining. Other issues, such as wage placement according to the standards of the Public School Employers Association B.C with respect to their provincial network, maternity leave and short-term disability, have not been included in the contracts of principals and vice-principals in many districts. “This was a vote like no other in our history and I am proud of how quickly our union has been able to find new ways to engage so many people in this time of physical and social distancing,” BCTF President Teri Mooring said in a statement on Twitter. Not good enough, according to Darren Danyluk, principal of David Thompson High School in Invermere and spokesman for the B.C. Principals` and Vice-Principals Association.
In a press release published on 8. BCPSEA Chief Executive Alan Chell said the ” . The BCPSEA Board of Directors was surprised and disappointed when it was informed that the BCTF Executive had rejected the Mediator`s settlement recommendations and would not pass them on to the vote of BCTF members. .
