Teachers are heading back to the classroom with less than one year left to go on a contract that was imposed by the provincial government this summer.
"After a long and difficult round of negotiations, we were compelled into this process under huge threat of fines and further punitive legislation," said Susan Lambert, head of the B.C. Teachers' Federation. "We have been able to achieve some modest improvements, but above all, we succeeded in getting government to take its concession demands off the table."
In response to the ongoing labour dispute, the provincial government brought in Bill 22, which prohibits teachers from striking and imposed hefty fines if they do. Teachers withdrew from extracurricular activities before summer break, and the provincial government imposed a twoyear contract, retroactive one year and set to expire in June 2013.
According to Lambert, the provincial government moved over on key areas the teachers' union was concerned about (seniority and teacher evaluations, for example), but there are no salary increases (which Lambert said translates to a pay cut when inflation is factored in), and class size and composition are still bones of contention. Teachers ratified the agreement in June, but their union will have to head back to the bargaining table in spring and start all over again with newly defined objectives.
The provincial election is set for May 14, 2013, and the teachers' agreement expires roughly a month-and-ahalf later on June 30, leading some to speculate the Liberals chose the date to ensure smooth sailing while British Columbians head to the polls.
"You've got to wonder why they would put that kind of date in there. Normally, the term of a collective agreement is also negotiated," Lambert said. "This one is legislatively imposed."
Lambert said that unions were under attack, especially in the U.S., and that corporations are influencing government policy, while opposing things like minimum wage. According to Lambert, the Harper government has followed the American lead, and the provincial government has also "in much more mute ways, done the same.
"It's not in the public's interest to try to attack unions. Unions protect people from abuses in the workplace. Unions are the ones that promote health and safety standards at work," she said. "I think that the union movement is a positive force for change in society."
