In the next few days B.C. teachers will take a strike vote to back their demands for higher wages and better working conditions.
Their union, the B.C. Teachers Federation (BCTF), and the government's bargaining agent, the B.C. Public Schools Employers Association (BCPSEA), are negotiating a new contract for teachers to replace the one that expires June 30. At this point the two sides are reportedly far apart of a number issues, including wages. The government is offering eight per cent over four years. The teachers are demanding 24 per cent over three years.
So, here we go again.
It was eight short months ago that teachers across B.C. defied the government and the courts by staging an illegal strike to bring attention to issues like contract stripping and class size. The wildcat walk-out lasted two weeks and, to the surprise of many, opinion polls showed most British Columbians supported the teachers' job action.
The teachers returned to work only after mediator Vince Ready came up with a compromise plan that addressed a few key issues and allowed both sides to save face.
We've got some free advice for the teachers and the BCTF - don't do it again.
The public is unlikely to be nearly as sympathetic a second time around. This is particularly true after every other major public sector union settled before their contracts expired March 31. If teachers strike a second time, most people will conclude that it's all about the money, not kids in the classrooms.
By today's labour relations standards it's still early in the negotiating game, so the public needn't be too alarmed yet by a strike vote, or by news reports that the BCTF has a strike plan for the fall which includes a study session Sept. 5, rotating strike action starting Sept. 11 and a full strike at an undetermined date.
BCTF president Jinny Sims downplayed those reports, saying the strike plan was just a "discussion paper."
But creating pre-emptive strike plans and making steep wage demands reinforces the perception that the BCTF is a singularly militant union. That militancy is a double-edged sword - it can serve the union's members well at bargaining time, but it also gives the impression that teachers are a bunch of left-wing zealots.
As negotiations heat up, the public should keep in mind most teachers are nothing like their sometimes rabid union leaders. And most teachers, especially in small towns, don't want to go on strike.
The Liberal government has an ace up its sleeve in negotiations, a huge signing bonus for teachers if they settle before June 30. The bonus will be financed from the province's budget surplus and it comes off the table July 1. It's the same strategy that worked so brilliantly to get the other big unions to sign on the dotted line.
Let's hope common sense prevails and teachers settle before the June 30 deadline. Another strike will not serve students or parents well and will serve to lower the public's estimation of a noble profession.
Bain Gair
