Education Minister George Abbott has introduced Bill 22, the Education Improvement Act aimed at bringing a resolution to the government’s contract dispute with the B-C Teachers Federation. Here are all the details:
-The bill suspends teachers’ strike action, brings in mediation, and sets a cooling off period to allow time to reach a deal
-Once the bill is passed in the legislature (likely next week), teachers will not be allowed to strike for the duration of the cooling off period.
-The bill includes daily fines of $ 475 per teacher, $ 2500 per union officer, and $ 1.3 million per day for the BCTF for violating the no-strike clause; but abbott says that part of the bill will be held in “abeyance” and would only be proclaimed “if needed”
-Until the bill passes, today’s LRB ruling allowing a walkout stands
-The cooling off period runs until the end of August
-The government will appoint a mediator (not named yet) to try one last time to reach a negotiated settlement with the union
-If the two sides still can’t reach a deal, the mediator will report back to government with non-binding recommendations by June 30th
-Any contract cannot impose new costs on employers, but the mediator can recommend wage hikes by finding savings elsewhere in the BCTF contract
-The existing collective agreement remains in effect during the mediation and cooling off period
-If there is no contract agreement by end of August, BCTF would be able to take strike action again in the fall – unless the government recalls the legislature in the summer and imposes a contract (Minister Abbott hinted today that would likely be their course of action)
-The government will return class size and related matters to the bargaining table, but not until the next round of contract talks in 2013
-For now, firm class size limits of 22 students per kindergarten class and 24 students for grades 1-3 remain in effect
-For all other grades, maximum of 30 students with some exceptions (eg: music class)
-Brand new in this bill: if classes exceed that 30 student maximum, teachers will be given extra compensation which could include increased pay, more preparation time, or other considerations
-The government is also eliminating limits or “quotas” on the number of special needs students in each class – this may mean hiring more education assistants if needed
-The bill also enacts the 165 million dollar learning improvement fund set aside to resolve last year’s court ruling around class size and composition. That money will be spread over three years, with only 30 million available in the first year
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