Facts about the contract feud between the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA), backed by the Liberal government:
Salary proposal: The BCTF wants a 15-per-cent wage hike over three years; the BCPSEA and government say teachers, like other provincial government employees, are bound by the net-zero mandate, which means no increased costs.
Proposal’s cost: The BCTF estimates a 15-per-cent salary increase would cost the provincial treasury an extra $560 million over three years; BCPSEA says the bill, compounded over three years, would be closer to $2 billion.
Recent wage increases: In 2002, a deal imposed by the Liberals gave BCTF members a 7.5-per-cent wage hike over three years. (That contract was extended for one year.) In 2006, the union signed a deal with raises ranging from 14 to 21.5 per cent over five years and a signing bonus. That contract expired June 30.
Current pay: The average minimum salary for a B.C. teacher is $48,000; the average maximum salary is $74,000.
Salary comparisons: B.C. pay is either fourth or ninth in the country, depending on whom you ask and whether the rankings include the territories or just the provinces. Last year, a Saskatchewan mediator found that B.C. pay was the lowest in Western Canada.
Read The Vancouver Sun full article here.
By Janet Steffenhagen MARCH 6, 2012
jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com
UBC, I am disappointed in you. If Bill 22
is passed, there will be no more limits as to
how many students and special needs students
can be placed in any class from Grades 4 – 12.
I gather a class of 50 students, 15 of whom have
special needs is okay with you, and not worth
fighting to prevent. Teachers are NOT striking
over wage increases, we are striking because
Bill 22 strips not only the rights of students,
but of us as employees. This corrupt government is
attempting to rewrite the Charter of Rights, by
eliminating ours. Due process for hiring and firing
would be gone. Qualifications and seniority would be
eliminated; no B.Ed nor even any schooling required;
administrators would be given full power to hire
and fire whomever they want on any flimsy basis.
That’s the stark reality of this situation. The
government focuses on money because they know
that they can exaggerate teachers’ requests and
turn the public against teachers. Stripping the
contract is the real issue, though. It is a flagrant
and outright attack on teacher’s Charter rights.
This was an article re-posted from The Vancouver Sun:
By Janet Steffenhagen MARCH 6, 2012
jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com
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