Years of failed negotiations offer government solutions, say former union leaders.
If you need proof that history repeats itself, look no further than the contract negotiations between the provincial government and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation.
Since the New Democratic Party government pushed bargaining from the local to provincial level in 1995, there’s only been one successfully negotiated teacher collective agreement.
During that period legislation has been passed, teachers have walked out, fines have been issued, and classes have been cancelled, and when negotiation time rolls around again both sides profess a desire for change, but change doesn’t happen.
The current case is Bill 22: the Education Improvement Act, which introduces a mediator to the equation, but rules any decision must meet the government’s net-zero mandate, which teachers refuse to accept.
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By Katie Hyslop, 26March2012, TheTyee.ca