B.C. teachers reach new tentative agreement with province

Teachers in British Columbia have reached a tentative agreement with the province after almost 50 meetings since March of this year.

In an announcement by the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA), it says the agreement was made with the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF), the union which employs nearly 49,000 kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers in the province, under B.C.’s Shared Recovery Mandate.

Speaking to CityNews, the executive director of BCPSEA, Leanne Bowes, says the agreement was made on Friday, and “we’re very pleased to be announcing [the deal].”

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“We have had some interesting times [bargaining] in the K to 12 in past labour relations, and this round has been a marked improvement,” she said. “Both sides have really worked well together collaboratively, and candidly, and we’re very pleased to be bringing forward our tentative agreements to our memberships.”

B.C. has 60 public boards of education for which the BCSPEA is the accredited bargaining agent.

The next step in the process will have both BCPSEA members and BCTF members ratify the agreement. It is anticipated ratification will take “several weeks,” the BCSPEA said.

Unable to share details of the agreement until the tentative agreement is ratified by the members of both parties, Bowes was able to share with CityNews that the agreement is in line with the province’s Shared Recovery Mandate, which provides a minimum 11.24 per cent general wage increase to employees.

“That’s the only piece I can speak to at this time, but we will share widely once it has been ratified,” Bowes said. “We very much appreciate the hard work of our BCTF colleagues at the bargaining table with us.”

After months of negotiations, we have reached a tentative agreement with significant salary gains and other important improvements. The BCTF Executive Committee is recommending the deal to #bced teachers. The ratification vote will take place November 16-18. #bcpoli Thread

— BCTF (@bctf) October 31, 2022

“We’re very pleased to be bringing forward something that supports teachers, that support students, [and] that support school districts in delivering a world-class education system.”

In a Twitter thread Monday, the BCTF says it will recommend the deal to its members, with ratification slated for Nov. 16 to 18.

The teachers’ federation says the deal also includes 10 additional minutes of prep time for elementary, improvements to benefits like counselling and glucose monitors, enhanced pregnancy leave, and better professional development funding.

For many teachers, “our classroom conditions remain challenging and workload [is] too high,” the BCTF wrote, adding it cannot fix those problems on its own.

“The #bcpoli government/school districts must do more than the bare minimum. Funding must be increased and more supports must be put into schools.

“Despite the challenges and frustrations of negotiating workload, we are confident that the tentative agreement is a big step forward, especially on salary and benefits,” the BCTF said.

–With files from Mike Lloyd