BCTF President Clint Johnston is recommending members sign the contract because he says the proposed agreement offers significant wage gains and other important benefits. “If ratified, this agreement will take us from nearly the lowest paid teachers in Canada to the top tier,” Johnston said in a statement sent to members Sunday. Johnston said annual pay for teachers at the top end of the pay scale will be $10,000 to $13,500 more annually through the end of the three-year term. “For the first time, experienced BC teachers will break the $100,000 per year mark,” he said. “I put you a lot closer to, or even above, teachers in places like Calgary and Toronto.” Under the proposed terms, new BCTF members would earn about $6,000 to $8,500 more annually over three years, depending on their roles, he said.
The province is happy to be making progress
The BCPSEA, which is negotiating on behalf of the provincial government, said in a statement that the agreement was reached on Friday. The union says the deal follows the province’s joint recovery mandate, which sets out specific wage increases, offers inflation protection and ensures the government has the resources to protect services and support economic recovery. British Columbia Finance Minister Selina Robinson said in a statement that she was “pleased to see that a tentative agreement has been reached.” Robinson says 51 percent of public sector workers who were in negotiations for new contracts are now covered by tentative or ratified agreements. “This is proof positive that the best deals happen at the negotiating table,” he said, adding that he would reserve any further comment until the ratification process. “What I can say is that this is a fair and reasonable deal for workers now and three years from now.” Grade 11 and 12 students picture potted plants during a Career and Life Connections lesson taught by teacher Mariam Hazhir at Tamanawis Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia. (Ben Nelms/CBC) The union says that in K-12 public education in B.C., there are nearly 49,000 teachers represented by the teaching federation, teaching 570,000 students in 60 school districts. “Teachers play an incredibly important role in the lives of their students and in their communities,” said Leanne Bowes, BCSPEA executive director of labor relations. “Teachers’ dedication throughout the pandemic has brought much-needed support to so many families.” Negotiations began on March 15 and the two sides have met a total of 47 times. Along with salary increases, Johnston says the new deal includes 10 minutes of prep time for elementary teachers, better health and maternity benefits and minimum standards across the province for professional development funding. The union said negotiating teacher workloads had been challenging and frustrating, but the bargaining team felt the deal was the best that could be reached. BCTF teachers, BCPSEA board members and trustee representatives must all ratify the agreement, which is expected to take several weeks. A ratification vote will be held by each local union between November 16 and 18.
