Months of negotiations ended on Thursday afternoon when a collective agreement was announced between the BC Teachers Federation and the BC Public School Employees Association. „It won`t be 60 kids in a classroom,“ he said. „Our normal class sizes are always present, negotiated in our collective agreement, so that two classes fit together, so that there are interactions outside the classroom that are done with your „partner class“ or the same learning group.“ „There was a language that already exists in the agreement on the leaves that are good for our members (and) the salary was addressed,“ she said. „While Terri (BCTF Mooring`s president) said it was higher than anything we`ve accomplished in the last few rounds, it`s not something that`s going to cause public concern. We have not broken that (public) mandate. Last week, in a letter to the employment agency, the BCTF asked them to intervene and force the province to address concerns about working conditions. They submitted it in accordance with section 88 of the Labour Code, which allows the Board of Directors to take steps to address differences between employers and employees over the duration of a collective agreement. „As a local leader, I am very pleased that we did not have to ask our members to strike for a collective agreement,“ Hapke said. „It was always our hope, from the moment the NDP came to power, that we could come to an agreement that required teachers not to lose money for it.“ „The PGDTA is very pleased that we have secured a collective agreement recommended by our negotiating team and the Board of Directors.“ „The typical ratification process would include meetings and school visits, and that is not the case,“ she said. „The BCTF Executive Committee will develop a plan, and we will continue to do so once they have developed it. Since children are not there at the moment, it is time to put in place a ratification process plan that works for everyone. „I knew there had been more intense mediation, but you can never assume that things are good,“ Hapke said.
„Both sides had to be prepared to do that, and I`m not sure what happened at those tables, but that`s why we`re glad it really worked for teachers and the public education system.“ „As a teacher, parent, grandparent and president of the BCTF, I agree that we need to learn personally,“ BC Teachers` Federation President Teri Mooring said in a press release.
