BCTF president says salary, learning conditions key issues for teachers when mediated talks resume
Bargainning is expected to resume in February; there has not been a collective agreement since June
A teacher shortage is negatively impacting students across the province and in order to reach a new collective agreement with the government, the president of the B.C. Teachers Federation says it must be addressed.
The two groups are currently at an impasse after trying to negotiate a new agreement for just over a year. The last deal between the BCTF, which represents about 43,000 teachers, and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association expired in June.
BCTF president Teri Mooring said teachers are focused on two priorities, which are salary and equitable student learning conditions across school districts. By equitable learning conditions, Mooring says she means each district having equal access to resources, such as special needs staff for vulnerable children who require extra learning or behavioural support.
"Salary speaks to the teacher shortage we are experiencing," said Mooring Wednesday on The Early Edition. "The face of who is teaching in classrooms because of the shortage has really changed."
Mooring said the shortage has had a significant impact on schools in north central B.C., the Peace Region and the North Coast of the province where special needs teachers are required to take on regular teaching roles because the demand is so high.
Watch Teri Mooring speak about the impact of staff shortages in B.C. schools:
According to Mooring, specialist roles, such as behavioural interventionist teachers, are difficult to fill and the consequences of those vacancies can be severe for some children.
"When that job is left vacant, as it is now, those students aren't supported and sometimes that means that those students aren't supported and sometimes that means that those students aren't able to stay in school," said Mooring.
Krista Sigurdson, chair of the Parents Advisory Council at Lord Strathcona Elementary School in Vancouver, said she is seeing this first-hand.
"Resource teachers are being pulled in and it sounds kind of innocuous but you add that up over time over and over again and kids with special needs, their needs are not being met," said Sigurdson.
Mooring said the cost of living in B.C. can make it challenging to attract new staff, especially in communities close to Alberta, where, she says, there is more money available for teaching education and teachers earn $10,000 more a year.
According to Mooring, B.C. teachers are the second-lowest paid in the country, behind only Quebec.
Uncertified teachers filling the gaps
To fill the staffing gaps in B.C. schools, Mooring said some districts are relying on people with special letters of permission from the Teacher Regulation Branch to run classrooms and to replace teachers when they call in sick.
As an example, Mooring said there are 18 teachers working in classrooms in Quesnel on special permission letters and the district has 38 replacement teachers of which 21 are not certified.
Mooring said she is waiting for the province to announce when bargaining will resume, as they are expected to return to the table in February.
In a statement, B.C. Education Minister Rob Fleming said both sides remain in contact with the mediator, and no job action can take place while the mediation process continues.
Stephanie Higginson, the president of the B.C. School Trustees Association, said last Friday on CBC's On The Coast she was hopeful and optimistic a fully negotiated settlement could be reached without any interruptions of student services.
"We continue to be focused on modernizing the classroom while remaining a really good employer and providing a good working environment for our employees," Higginson said. "We also recognize there's a provincial mandate that we have to stay within to do it."
In a memo from Mooring emailed to teachers and obtained by another media outlet, the president wrote that the BCTF is committed to mediation but did lay out four potential job action phases if talks break down. The final stage is a provincewide strike.
To listen to the complete interview with BCTF president Teri Mooring on The Early Edition, tap the audio link below:
To listen to the complete interview with Krista Sigurdson, as well as Vik Khanna, an executive of the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council, on The Early Edition, tap the audio link below:
With files from The Early Edition