Support BC Teachers and Public Education

We stand firm in our commitment to supporting teachers and public education. It’s time for appropriately funded public education and fair compensation and working conditions for teachers. Teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions.

The following recommendation was adopted at our June regular meeting: 

BECAUSE the BC Teachers Federation is currently engaged in collective bargaining with the BC Public School Employers’ Association; and
BECAUSE the Employers’ Association has brought forward concessionary proposals which could lead to larger classes, less attention to students, fewer resources and teacher layoffs; and
BECAUSE these proposals also ignore the Supreme Court of Canada ruling which restored collective agreement clauses on class size and composition illegally removed by the former Liberal government in 2002; and
BECAUSE BC teachers are among the lowest paid in Canada, and BC students are funded $1,800 less than the national average; and
BECAUSE the BC government achieved a budget surplus of $274 million in 2019, despite increased funding to services and social programs; and
BECAUSE education is the best investment we can make as a province, one which serves teachers, students, families, and our economy today and into the future,

THE VANCOUVER AND DISTRICT LABOUR COUNCIL WILL write to Premier John Horgan reminding him of the historic injustices perpetrated against teachers in British Columbia, and the NDP’s support for righting these wrongs, which has been a major reason for labour and community support for their government, as well as urging him to direct the BC Public School Employers’ Association to come back to the bargaining table with new, non-concessionary, proposals which will include more support for students and teachers; and
THE VANCOUVER AND DISTRICT LABOUR COUNCIL WILL support the BC Teachers Federation in their ongoing fight for appropriately funded public education and fair compensation and working conditions for teachers.
 

Learn more about these issues at the BC Teachers’ Federation website.