BC Legislation could remove teachers right to strike
15 replies, posted
[release]
[B][URL="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/02/28/bc-teachers-strike-lrb.html"]B.C.'s 40,000 teachers have been granted the right to strike by the Labour Relations Board, but the government has introduced legislation that could take away that right and impose a six-month cooling-off period and a mediator to settle the contract dispute.[/URL][/B]
The legislation is expected to take to take up to a week to pass in the legislature, [B]meaning the teachers could legally exercise their right to strike in the meantime.[/B]
The province's Labour Relations Board ruled Tuesday afternoon that the teachers can strike for three days in one week as part of their expanded job action, and then one day each subsequent week, though they must give two days notice before striking.
The strike ruling from the board came down just hours before the provincial government introduced its own legislation aimed at ending the dispute.
The legislation introduced by the government would not impose a new contract, but does include a cooling-off period that would end the current job action until Aug. 31, making the teachers' current job action and any future strikes illegal, once it has passed into law.
The B.C. Teachers Federation is expected to hold a strike vote on Wednesday and Thursday, meaning the earliest possible date for a strike may be next week.
The BCTF will not be allowed to set up picket lines, the board ruled. The board also said it will review its ruling on a weekly basis. The teachers required the board's ruling to strike legally because they have been designated as an essential service by the government.
The teachers are expected to release more details about their plans later on Tuesday afternoon.
Mediator appointed by legislation
[B]The government legislation also puts in place harsh financial penalties for teachers, unions and union representatives who take illegal strike action during the cooling-off period.
Teachers: $475 a day.
Union reps: $2,500 a day.
BCTF organization: $1.3 million a day.[/B]
Since September, teachers have been conducting a limited legal job action, which has included refusing to meet with administrators, supervise recess or fill out report cards.
The government legislation would impose a mediator who will report back with non-binding recommendations by June 30. If the parties fail to reach an agreement with the mediator, the government could in separate legislation impose a new contract.
The legislation also extends the current BCTF contract, which expired last June, through the cooling-off period.
Under the terms of the legislation introduced in the legislature on Tuesday afternoon, any settlement will have to meet the government's net-zero mandate, which essentially means the province is not prepared to consider any wage or benefit increases.
The federation is asking for a 15 per cent wage increase over the three-year contract. They have been without a contract since June 2011.[/release]
They don't realize that there are hundreds of unemployed teachers who would gladly replace them, but I support the strike.
I am unfamiliar with the Canadian education system. What is it they are protesting?
[QUOTE=da bloop;34917973]I am unfamiliar with the Canadian education system. What is it they are protesting?[/QUOTE]
I dunno probably something dumb. Cause they don't get paid poorly like some do in the states.
[QUOTE=da bloop;34917973]I am unfamiliar with the Canadian education system. What is it they are protesting?[/QUOTE]
You mean BC education system, they're striking because a contract has expired regarding their agreement on teacher pay, the the government wants to cut it to balance their provincial budget.
[editline]29th February 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=Aman VII;34918028]I dunno probably something dumb. Cause they don't get paid poorly like some do in the states.[/QUOTE]
Because Canada isn't the United States, your education system is bad and ours is good and we wish to keep it this way. Canada is a democracy, I'm not sure if the states is a democracy? In the end of comes down to costs of living, the standard is a little higher here but we also pay alot of taxes to pay for our social healthcare, education and compensation so we require higher pay.
[QUOTE=Gereight;34918075]You mean BC education system, they're striking because a contract has expired regarding their agreement on teacher pay, the the government wants to cut it to balance their provincial budget.
[editline]29th February 2012[/editline]
Because Canada isn't the United States, your education system is bad and ours is good and we wish to keep it this way. Canada is a democracy, I'm not sure if the states is a democracy? In the end of comes down to costs of living, the standard is a little higher here but we also pay alot of taxes to pay for our social healthcare, education and compensation so we require higher pay.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, it must be a great system if there's a giant problem with worker strikes, so much that they have to make a law to make it illegal.
[QUOTE=Wealth + Taste;34918244]Yeah, it must be a great system if there's a giant problem with worker strikes, so much that they have to make a law to make it illegal.[/QUOTE]
Education system isn't the BC legislative assembly. Why do you think the teachers are striking? To preserve this, learn your politics. You can't really start arguing successfully unless you understand how it works. You also dident read what I said or read the article which I find astounding, they're striking because the government wants to impose pay cuts to balance out the budget while the majority of teachers want to preserve their pay and parents want their children to get a fair education so they support it. The only way to negotiate with politicians is to strike a provincial requirement.
when are the flags coming back I can't tell who is from where
[QUOTE=Gereight;34917866]
[B]Teachers: $475 a day.
Union reps: $2,500 a day.
BCTF organization: $1.3 million a day.[/B][/QUOTE]
This makes me angry beyond words.
[QUOTE=Wealth + Taste;34918244]Yeah, it must be a great system if there's a giant problem with worker strikes, so much that they have to make a law to make it illegal.[/QUOTE]
It's illegal for teachers to strike in several states, too.
Mine is one of them.
As far as your "problem with worker strikes"- you apparently forgot about the massive Madison strike and capitol occupation, and the teacher strikes in Ohio and Michigan that came with it, and don't know about the planned general strike on May Day and the West Coast general strike late last year.
Canada hasn't had nearly as much of a problem as us. The main thing is that they understand the importance of the strike and why everyone should have access to it.
Then the teachers walk out stating "I'll get fucked either way" and watch the districts start pulling substitutes out of retirement.
My highschool teachers were openly pissed with their pay.
I haven't looked into it too much, but I honestly cannot see the reasons for striking being beneficial for anyone.
If you feel passionately enough about it that you will stop working for a day and just stand outside your workplace then why don't you just do the work? Alternatively, quit.
As someone else stated there are many unemployed people who would gladly take their roles in the situation, so really just get your shit together and do your job after going down different avenues of protest.
Striking in my eyes currently is not a good way of dealing with things. Please, if you feel you can intelligently and informatively persuade me then feel free, I'd love to hear another side to it.
I never liked the ideas of teachers going on strike, because if they do then the children learn nothing and won't get anywhere. But I also agree that all teachers should be paid more, they should all make more than 50k a year in my opinion. If we halved the defense budget here in the US, image what a small sum would be used to give teachers better pay. A happier teacher is a better teacher for better students for a better tomorrow. And that is what is important.
There's some big BC student walk out or some crap with 11,000 students apparently attending and all meeting up at the Vancouver at gallery, was on the local news today :v:. most likely just an excuse to ditch class though.
i dont understand. how does one have the "right" to strike? thats like saying one needs the "right" to protest. the whole idea is that you're going against a particular government or institution. who gives a fuck whether you have the right or not? its completely irrelevant. why would you depend on an institution to give you the right to tell them why they're wrong?
[QUOTE=Clunj;34923819]I haven't looked into it too much, but I honestly cannot see the reasons for striking being beneficial for anyone.
If you feel passionately enough about it that you will stop working for a day and just stand outside your workplace then why don't you just do the work? Alternatively, quit.
As someone else stated there are many unemployed people who would gladly take their roles in the situation, so really just get your shit together and do your job after going down different avenues of protest.
Striking in my eyes currently is not a good way of dealing with things. Please, if you feel you can intelligently and informatively persuade me then feel free, I'd love to hear another side to it.[/QUOTE]
Because they're deemed an essential service which severely limits their bargaining ability, which ultimate results in the Government repeatedly cutting their pay. The system is very broken with senior teachers having automatic priority and pay being based on education rather than merit.
I've had some of the best teachers who taught the best classes straight out of university, and I've
had the worse teachers who were about to retire and didn't really care all that much, yet they were
paid better and had much more authority because "seniority".
They're trying to strike to prove that the Government can't keep fucking them over just because they're an essential service. Of course, this will make anyone with a child mad because it's their child's
education but the fact of the matter is you need a lot of schooling to become a teacher and the pay
doesn't really suit the massive task teacher's take up. The fact there is unemployed teachers does not
mean they shouldn't have the ability to protest shitty treatment.
That's like saying the entire IT Industry should all work for minimum wage because there is someone in India willing to do their job for that much. I can't afford to live alone on minimum wage, that's for sure.
[QUOTE=Pace.;34923986]i dont understand. how does one have the "right" to strike? thats like saying one needs the "right" to protest. the whole idea is that you're going against a particular government or institution. who gives a fuck whether you have the right or not? its completely irrelevant. why would you depend on an institution to give you the right to tell them why they're wrong?[/QUOTE]
If it was not a right you could be punished or the action could be made illegal, by making it a right it is much more difficult to revoke.
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