BC Teachers Federation issue job action plan as contract negotiations persist

The BC Teachers Federation’s Representative Assembly has passed a plan to call a strike vote if necessary following a year of bargaining with the province’s Public School Employers’ Association.

However, no strike vote has been called and there is no plan to set a date for one at this time.

In an interview with MyPGNow.com, BCTF President Teri Mooring believes they are getting mixed messages.

“What we often here are different things from the education minister or even the premier in the media than we see at the table and so there is a disconnect we see between what government is saying publicly and what we are seeing at the bargaining table.”

Joanne Hapke is the President of the Prince George District Teachers Association who states they aren’t too picky on how the deal gets done.

“We have been bargaining with the employer for over a year and we are committed to having a negotiated settlement either with the support of the mediator or back at the table.”

Teacher shortages and salaries continue to be the two major sticking points as teachers in the province often make 20-thousand dollars less than those in Alberta.

Across the north, many classrooms currently have uncertified teachers instructing students, something Mooring would like to see changed.

“An uncertified teacher is someone who hasn’t been through a teacher education program. They might have a degree or we might not and we have individuals without degrees and without any teacher education training.”

“The teacher shortage is the worst I have seen in my career and I have been a teacher for a long time. More than 20 uncertified teachers are working in Quesnel, Dawson Creek, Fort Saint John and it’s the exact same in Prince George.”

Hapke echoes the sentiments of Mooring who is of the opinion, at the end of the day, it all comes down to dollars and cents.

“We have unfilled classrooms and that is not a typical situation for Prince George. The teachers can stay in Alberta and make $20,000 more a year and they can still make money by teaching on call in Alberta than they would if they moved to BC or Prince George.”

“There is a disappointment that things have not changed with a friendlier government. We are someplace we didn’t expect to be at this point but here we are, and were used to spending more time at the bargaining table than any other union.”