On the government’s approach to collective bargaining with the BCTF
In the legislature today I rose during Question Period to ask the Minister of Education what his government was thinking when they tabled their class size and composition proposals. I further asked what he thought this would do to the morale of B.C. teachers given that starting in 2002 and culminating in the landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision on November 10, 2016, the BCTF fought hard to restore provisions regarding their ability to bargain class size and composition.
In addition, I asked the minister how he reconciled his statement to the Globe and Mail on March 17th:
with the comments from BCTF president Glen Hansman to the Vancouver Sun on May 17:
Below I reproduce the video and text of our Question Period exchange.
The BC Green Party made public education our top priority in the last provincial election campaign. Our fully costed platform found more than $4 billion in new funds over four years in support of this priority.
Public education is the foundation of any modern society. The BC Green party believes fundamentally in the importance of intergenerational equity and a preventative rather than reactive approaches to problem solving. For example, you will hear a lot about the struggles with the fentanyl crisis and young adults. Governments are good at funding “harm reduction projects” (reactive) but often don’t realize that prevention is as critical. How many of our social problems today have arisen as a direct consequence of children growing up over the last dozen or so years without accesses to the services they needed to succeed (as they were often the first to get cut)? They still struggle.
Video of Exchange
Question
A. Weaver: Last week we heard from the BCTF that this government is putting forth essentially the same proposals in contract negotiations that the former government did in 2014. In particular, government has tabled larger maximum class sizes and fewer specialty teachers.
In 2014, the now Minister of Education stated that class size and composition was a “central issue” in the ongoing teachers strike at the time and that it was “critical” and that “class size and composition do impact learning outcomes.”
My question is to the Minister of Education. Starting in 2002 and culminating in the landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision on November 10, 2016, the BCTF fought hard to restore provisions regarding their ability to bargain class size and composition. What was government thinking when they tabled their class size and composition proposals, and what does he think this will do to the morale of B.C. teachers?
Answer
Hon. R. Fleming: I thank the member for the question, because he did indeed go through a litany of damaging years in public education in British Columbia that stand in stark contrast to the record of our government over the last 21 months. Let’s remember that for 16 years, that government over there, the opposition now, fought with teachers, ripped up contracts….
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members. Members, the Minister of Education has the floor.
Interjections.
Hon. R. Fleming: I think they’re a little sensitive, Mr. Speaker, about losing in court…
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members.
Hon. R. Fleming: …three times. Three times, Mr. Speaker.
Interjections.
Mr. Speaker: Members.
Minister of Education.
Hon. R. Fleming: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It’s really sensitive, because they lost three times in the Supreme Court.
The point is, they wasted 12 years, they ripped resources away from kids and families, they demonized teachers, and they lost. We’re taking a different approach.
Interjections.
Hon. R. Fleming: I think the member who asked the question would like an answer. I think he would appreciate it, and here’s what the answer is. In 21 months, our government has added $1 billion of annual resource….
Interjections.
Hon. R. Fleming: We’ve hired 4,000 new teachers and 1,000 education assistants. Funding for students with special needs is up 23 percent. Rural education funding is at a record high and up under our government.
Mr. Speaker: Members.
Hon. R. Fleming: I would ask the members opposite to read some headlines they might not want to read. The Delta Optimist, the Kelowna Courier — each one of them is saying that for the first time in 15 years, they don’t have to cut budgets. They don’t have to fire teachers. They’ve got funding and a government that’s on their side.
Supplementary Question
A. Weaver: I thank the minister for the answer to the question. I’m not sure it was the question that I asked, but at least there was a long answer there, so I do appreciate the words and the facts being brought forward.
In 2014, the current Minister of Education spoke passionately about how the B.C. budget of the day: “It robs from the pocketbooks of ordinary British Columbians and fails to invest in the future.” He was talking about the lack of education support, specifically the lack of school support workers at the time.
According to the BCTF president, Glen Hansman, this new position of the B.C. government would: “Wipe out each and every word that teachers got back through the Supreme Court of Canada decision and replace it with watered-down language that’s worse than what exists in most school districts across the province.”
On March 17, the Minister of Education told the Globe and Mail this: “The table is set different than any set of negotiations in the last 16 years. Our government is not seeking any concessions. We are seeking changes that will benefit teachers and students.”
My question is to the Minister of Education. How does he reconcile this quote with the claims of the BCTF president?
Answer
Hon. R. Fleming: I thank the member for the question again. He’ll know this as somebody who was a former negotiator himself for labour: that bargaining is best done at the table. What I’m proud of is our government…. We have gone to the table in this round of negotiations earlier than ever before. We have set the table with record levels of funding. I can go through that list again for the members present, but they’ve all been at school announcements in their ridings, so they know about it firsthand.
We have also demonstrated respect to the teaching profession. We have now, I’m pleased to say, 197,000 public servants in British Columbia who have signed on with tentative agreements under the sustainable services mandating agreement. We have 25,000 CUPE K-to-12 education workers who are included in that group.
I would say to the member to also listen to Mr. Hansman. He said, going into the weekend, and I would echo this message with him: “We’re still optimistic that there will be a deal. We have five weeks until the end of the school year. The good news is that both sides have scheduled a lot of dates, so there’s a lot of room to talk. That’s positive. We didn’t have that in the last few rounds.” So I will respectfully allow elected trustees — who we restored, democratically, to the bargaining process — to do their work. They understand teachers. They work alongside teachers. The previous government fired them, and I think that was a huge mistake. That is the stark contrast that we have here.
If members want to think back exactly five years ago, they locked out teachers. They cut their pay. They provoked British Columbia’s education system, and it was a disaster. It led to the longest shutdown of schools in British Columbia history. We’re in a vastly different place, where we want to work with teachers and school districts and get a good deal that’s good for everyone.
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11 Comments
As a retired BC teacher, I am dismayed to recognize aspects of the attitude and actions of the BC Liberals toward BCTF and progress in education being reflected by the NDP, just when we thought conditions for teachers and teacher support staff were improving. Sad to know that even with the Supreme Court decision, and all of the previous years of devastating contracts leading up to it, wrong-headed plans for education continue to be made. Stay strong, BCTF!
Thank you for supporting teachers and students. I would ask you to please put the question to Honourable Minister Fleming: to plainly define how much of the benefits to teachers and students, that we have today, does he think are the result of NDP choice and how much is in place solely due to the court win. Please ask Minister Fleming if the government plans to go further than court demands in favour of public education.
Thank you for asking these questions and holding the government to account even though they don’t seem to give a clear answer and admit to the concessions they are asking for from teachers. Perhaps those government officials proposing changes should spend a day in a classroom to understand the reality teachers are dealing with every day and then the impact that further cuts will have on children and their families. Students and teachers need more support, not less. There is a crisis of mental health in our schools that is not being addressed and it is impacting us all. Please keep up the good work and keep pushing for answers and support for our kids.
Please keep pressing forward on these issues. Public education is not just about education; it is a social safety net that is failing due to underfunding and a complete disregard for classroom size and composition. While I don’t completely support the Green Party’s stance on public education (I didn’t love what I was reading about. schools of choice, a model tried and failed in the USA), the Green Party stands to gain supporters due to the way these negotiations are being handled by the NDP.
Thank you for trying to hold Minister Fleming accountable for his government’s actions on negotiations with teachers. The fact of the matter is that the teachers hired were directly as result of the Supreme Court ruling, not a policy decision on the part of the government. It is so sad to hear the same rhetoric coming from this Minister of Education as came from the last one. In 2016 I took time off work at my own expense to run as a candidate for the NDP in the provincial election. I can assure you that I will not make that mistake again.
I appreciate you bringing up the proposal that the NDP has for class size and composition twice. Its unfortunate that Mr. Fleming couldn’t answer this question because it would have made him and his party look very bad. Mr. Fleming instead chose to talk about all the “new funding” in education but I am really curious how much of this funding came because of the teachers court win and how much was “extra” if any at all. Once again thank you for fighting for public education.
The court decision was that the government couldn’t remove the unions ability to bring up class size and compensation through legislation…
“B.C. Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin rules in BCTF’s favour, says 2002 legislation that stripped teacher rights to negotiate class size and composition was unconstitutional and gives Liberal government a year to fix. Government does not appeal this ruling.”
Maybe I do not understand but it didn’t say anything about them not being able to negotiate on those two subjects?
I simply don’t understand how it is that Fleming and the NDP can go on and on about what we won in court (at our own monetary expense btw) and yet still be asking us to give concessions that amount to rolling back exactly what they are referencing. Either all of those people at the bargaining table for the BCTF are lying about these concessions or BCPSEA and now the NDP are not telling the truth about what is happening at the bargaining table. I can say with 100% certainty that we the BCTF truly want a negotiated contract and will not give into concessions that we worked for so many years to get back.
They are concessions and teachers will not stand for this ..
Why didn’t he answer the question?
I appreciate you asking the questions,despite not getting an answer. Thank you.