The Maple Ridge Teachers’ Association is asking local school board trustees to take a stand against a proposed bill by the Liberal government that would force teachers back to work and end their job walkout.
Local teachers and their counterparts across the province walked off the job on Monday as their contract dispute with the provincial government escalated.
Education Minister George Abbott introduced Bill 22 in the provincial legislature Feb. 28, which would force teachers back to work, and impose strict penalties if an illegal strike were to occur. However, the bill is still working its way through the legislature, and has yet to be enacted as law.
The MRTA sent a letter to the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Board of Education, requesting trustees ask the Ministry of Education to repeal the bill, should it get passed.
Board chair Mike Murray said trustees will be discussing the matter and making their decision Wednesday.
However, he wouldn’t share whether he personally planned to support the MRTA’s request.
“I joined a team, and I need to speak with the rest of our team before we make a decision,” he said.
Although the local school district is a member of B.C. Public School Employers Association, the government’s bargaining agent in the contract dispute, Murray said the district is not a party to the contract negotiations.
“In all of our minds, students are first and foremost,” said Murray. “We regret it’s gotten to this point.”
The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Board of Education has previously called on the provincial government to take part in mediation with teachers to settle the ongoing contract dispute.
While Bill 22 provides for a mediation process, it prevents issues like class size, and class composition from being negotiated.
That’s not real mediation, according to MRTA president George Serra, who wants the government to put everything on the table, not just the specific they want to negotiate.
“Our members do not take strike action lightly, but we have a government who won’t even come to the table unless they call all of the shots,” Serra said. “That’s a direct contradiction to the very notion of free collective bargaining. At this point, the best solution is independent mediation.”
Former school superintendent Mike Suddaby was emphatic about his opposition to Bill 22. Suddaby contacted the MRTA last week and offered to help the local teachers’ union in preventing Bill 22 from becoming law.
“In all my years, I have never seen a government so bent on trying to destroy the best of the teaching profession,” he said. “Bill 22 takes away class size and class composition limits. How is that good for either students or their teachers?”
Education Minister George Abbott defended Bill 22 on Wednesday, stating that is provides a “fair and balanced” process to address contract issues.
“While the teacher’s union initially called for mediation, they rejected the approach set out in Bill 22 because it makes it clear that any mediated settlement must respect the net-zero mandate,” Abbott said. “This is no surprise as virtually every other public sector union in the province has signed agreements at net-zero, and government has clearly and consistently stated that the [B.C. Teachers’ Federation’s] demands for a $2-billion increase to wages and benefits are completely unreasonable given the current economic reality.”
B.C. teachers have been taking part in work-to-rule job action since the beginning of the school year after contract talks with the province’s bargaining agent broke down. Teachers have been without a contract since June.