Court rules teachers have right to grieve changes to working and learning conditions

BCTF News Release: 2011 March 31

Court rules teachers have right to grieve changes to working and learning conditions 

Teachers are applauding a decision by the BC Court of Appeal that requires principals and superintendents to ensure that any oversize classes are appropriate for student learning throughout the school year, not just on a particular day at the beginning of the year.

“This is an extremely important decision because it means that the legal obligation to ensure a class is appropriate for student learning continues beyond September 30,” said BCTF President Susan Lambert. “Principals and superintendents must reconsider their determination of appropriateness if the classroom conditions change, or if promised resources or assistance are not provided or are withdrawn during the school year.”

Since 2002, when the BC Liberals stripped class-size and composition language from the teachers’ collective agreements, thousands of teachers have filed grievances in an effort to ensure the teaching and learning conditions in their classrooms are workable. About 15,000 outstanding grievances for 2006–11 remain unresolved.

This case began in 2009, when a teacher in Alberni filed a grievance regarding her Grade 5 class, which had more than the legally allowed number of students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Recognizing that the class was not appropriate for student learning, the teacher was provided with an integration support aide. However, the frequent and prolonged absence of the aide made providing appropriate education much more difficult and breached a promise made at the beginning of the school year.

“We’re gratified that the Court of Appeal has upheld our position that teachers have the right to grieve unacceptable class-size and composition, and that appropriate learning conditions must be upheld throughout the school year,” said Lambert. “We are determined to restore these stripped provisions because we know that contractual guarantees are the best way to ensure that students’ needs can be met in classes that are manageable. Both teachers and the public expect changes.”

BCTF public opinion research released last week shows strong public support for restoring contractual language to limit class sizes. Nine out of ten British Columbians believe it is important that BC teachers have a contract that protects learning conditions, and 84% believe that restoration of the right to negotiate learning and working conditions is important. In addition, 70% believe funding for public schools is too low.

For more information, contact Nancy Knickerbocker, BCTF media relations officer, at 604-871-1881 (office) or 604-340-1959 (cell).

Bargaining for our future

BCTF: 2011 March 1

In a recent speech at the British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) AGM, BCTF President Susan Lambert, emphasized our determination to renegotiate the split of issues, and our desire for a constructive round of local and provincial bargaining. The BCTF plan is for salary, benefits, hours of work, and paid leaves to be at the provincial table with all other items negotiated at local tables.

Not since provincial bargaining was imposed in 1994 have locals had the opportunity to update “stale” clauses, and to revise and enhance provisions to more adequately address today’s teaching environment. No progress has been possible in improving working conditions, personnel practices, and professional rights including professional development.

Teacher salaries in BC continue to lag further behind most other provinces. In Vancouver, the city with the highest cost of living in Canada, we are $9,981 behind our colleagues in Toronto (5 max.). Closer to home the situation is even worse. At 5 max., we are currently $11,311 behind our colleagues in Calgary and $11,580 behind teachers in Edmonton (where 5 max. will rise to $95,135, and 6 max. to over $100,000 in September 2011). In addition teachers in elementary schools in Toronto get 220 (increasing to 240 in 2012) minutes of prep time per week.

Other occupations traditionally compared with teachers are also outpacing us. Police, firefighters, and nurses have higher starting and maximum salaries than our category 5 in Vancouver.

The October 2010 BCTF Bargaining Conference set as a salary objective parity with teachers in Alberta and Ontario. Teachers need and deserve to be paid fairly and in keeping with our colleagues in the rest of Canada. We have been subjected to government wage freezes and legislated settlements for over a decade. We cannot allow the decline in our salaries to continue.

Bills 27 and 28 enacted in January 2002, which eliminated the class-size and class-composition limits in the provincial collective agreement were challenged in BC Supreme Court. We await the result and hope that the unjust contract stripping of class-size and composition ratios (for learning assistance, ESL, counsellors, teacher-librarians) will be declared illegal. Locals would then be empowered to at least pursue the manner and consequences of the implementation of the class-size/composition limits that currently exist in legislation. Students’ learning conditions are our working conditions.

Teachers will not accept another legislated collective agreement. We want a fair deal at the bargaining table.