BC Teachers ratify contract deal reached last week

It's not really too clear just yet what the classroom will look like when the province's teachers once again stand in front of their students.

But when they do, the teachers of British Columbia will be approaching the next two years with a new contract.

The end of the long running contract negotiations was put together last week, that after over a year of off and on bargaining between the BCTF and the employers association BCPSEA.

The new three year contract which is back dated to July 1st 2019, will expire at the end of June 2022.

Negotiated with the assistance of mediator David Schaub, the agreement falls into line with other contract agreements negotiated through the provincial Sustainable Services Negotiating mandate.

Among the main points of the new three year deal was a general wage increase of 2% per year for all three years of the deal.

As apart of the contract there will be a 1% increase in 2020 to the top step of the teacher salary grid in each district, as well as a mediated process that will work to support successful bargaining negotiations in future years.

The provincial government's notes on the new labour contract can be explored here.

The Teachers ratification vote results were released on Friday by BCTF President Teri Mooring, who noted the contract proposal received 98% approval of the membership that voted.

In a message to the BCFT membership, Ms. Mooring noted that from that vote 31,838 BCTF members voted, with 31,087 in favour, 751 against the contract. 

The voting which was conducted online took place over three days and nights.

More notes on the Teachers' Federation view of the contract can be found here.

For its part the British Columbia Public School Employer's Association which represents the School Districts of the province also hailed the contract settlement, with BCPSEA Board Chair Alan Chell 

“BC’s public school districts have now successfully concluded collective bargaining with both our unionized support staff and unionized teachers under the provincial government Sustainable Services Bargaining Mandate. “We hope that the process established under this agreement will facilitate more productive discussions at the bargaining table in the next round,”

Mr. Chell also made note of the ongoing efforts of all public school employees in delivering on educational continuity in these challenging times.

“The Board also wants to recognize the integral contributions of all public school system employees, particularly during our current challenges in providing education continuity for our students during the COVID-19 pandemic. BC is known for its high quality and high performing public school system, and we appreciate the efforts of our employees, students, and their parents who are working hard to ensure every student is able to finish the year as positively and successfully as possible.”

Both Premier John Horgan and Education Rob Fleming also took note of the successful conclusion to the negotiation process of the recent round of bargaining.

To this point there has been no information release from SD52 to note the success at the bargaining table, or how the new contract may impact on the local school system

For a look back at some of the twists and turns of the contract negotiations see our archive page here.

A wider overview of SD52 school issues can be found here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.