School Board No. 46 (SD46) trustees are proposing a new way to end the teachers’ strike.
After a week that saw teachers call for binding arbitration and the government refuse, trustees penned a letter urging both sides to “jointly request Vince Ready to publicly release a report with non-binding recommendations on how both parties can change their bargaining positions to reach an agreement as soon as possible, including the considerations of arbitration and what if any positions around arbitration might be appropriate.”
The report and non-binding recommendations could lead to a deal and help salvage relationships between teachers and the government, board chair Betty Baxter said.
“We are looking for ways that will have some kind of potential for positive relationships and anything that’s forced, first of all the government’s not going to do it to start with. But at the same time, in principle, if it’s absolutely forced on the parties, we still have this kind of positional place where people feel ‘we were made to do it,’ and there could be ramifications for both our relationships and future disputes,” Baxter said.
“That’s why we wanted to have public recommendations that would be non-binding so the public can see exactly what people are turning down. So the public piece was far more important to us than anything else.”
The letter was sent to the Ministry of Education and the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) on Wednesday and it can be read in its entirety on page nine in this issue of Coast Reporter.
The move by SD46 came after teachers called for binding arbitration twice (on Sept. 5 and Sept. 8) and both times government refused.
“Arbitration is not something this government is going to consider, and the reason we’re not is we recognize that our responsibility as government is not only to the BCTF members, to give them a fair settlement, it is also to the taxpayers of this province. And arbitration simply takes the responsibility away from both parties to get to a negotiated or mediated settlement and gives it to a third party,” Education Minister Peter Fassbender said.
“It is not fiscally responsible to do that for the taxpayers of British Columbia, and quite honestly, I think the BCTF needs to be prepared to put a mediated settlement in front of their members that is in the zone, that respects issues of class size and composition in this round of bargaining for a new contract.”
While the BCTF was unwilling to abandon its call for arbitration, teachers on the Coast rallied at the Seaside Centre on Sept. 5 to talk about the issue and hold a march in downtown Sechelt. Many of the signs held during the demonstration pointed to government’s unwillingness to put more money on the table as the number one stumbling block to reaching a deal.
Signs read things such as: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance,” and “Withholding funding equals starving minds.”
Teachers are also feeling the effects of withheld funding as they haven’t been paid a wage since their strike began in June.
Sunshine Coast Teachers’ Association president Louise Herle said at a school board meeting last month that most teachers had lost over $5,000 since the strike began.
In an effort to lessen the impact, some unions in B.C. stepped forward this week, offering millions to support teachers while they continue their strike.
The B.C. Federation of Labour committed $7 million in interest-free loans to the BCTF and the BC Nurses’ Union gave $500,000 to the “teachers’ hardship fund, to support teachers and their families on the picket line.”
Some local parents also plan to show their support on Monday, Sept. 15, by taking part in a “strike march” that will run from Elphinstone Secondary School to Tim Hortons and back starting at 1 p.m. at the high school.
Organizer Patty Young said that as a mother of three she wanted to show support to local teachers and let them know they’re not alone in their fight.
“I know a lot of people want to know how to support the teachers but just aren’t sure how to do it. Well, this is how,” Young said.
