Canadian Labour Reporter

7 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 CANADIAN LABOUR REPORTER impasse at the bargaining table, veteran media- tor Vince Ready was specifically requested and brought in in August. "This was a very tough round of negotiations and a difficult time for many of us on strike, but we successfully pushed back against concession demands and we have emerged as a stronger and more engaged union," said Jim Iker, president of the BCTF. While chalkboards collected dust, both sides dug in their heels in what has proved to be one of the most contentious labour disputes in the edu- cation sector in recent years. The BCTF received an $8-million interest- free loan from the B.C. Federation of Labour (the umbrella group for unions such as the Hos- pital Employees Union and the B.C. Govern- ment Employees Union). Additionally, the B.C. Nurses' Union offered a $500,000 donation to the teachers' hardship fund. On the other hand, the education ministry provided parents whose children were 12-years- old or younger an allowance of $40 per day for each day their little ones had to stay at home, in order to finance alternative child care. "A negotiated settlement was really im- portant because it allows us to reset that re- lationship that has been so dysfunctional for so long," said Christy Clark, the province's premier. Only a few details of the collective agreement have been released, but the teachers' federation confirmed a 7.25 per cent wage increase over the life of the agreement and improvements to ben- efits. That includes a two per cent increase retro- actively effective as of Sept. 1, 2014, 1.25 per cent effective Jan. 1, 2015, one per cent effective July 1, 2016, 0.5 per cent effective July 1, 2017, one per cent effective May 1, 2018, 0.5 per cent effec- tive July 1, 2018, and one per cent effective May 1, 2019. Additionally, $105 million was given to the union to allocate to members in the form of a signing bonus. As well, an education fund will be established and used exclusively to hire additional bar- gaining unit members to address class size and composition — a major point of contention and sticking point for the union during negotiations. In 2014, the education fund amounts to $75 million, rises to $80 million for each of the next three years, and then will increase to $85 million in 2018. The extended health care and dental benefit plans were also beefed up, amounting to an ad- ditional $11.85 million. "We all know this deal isn't perfect, but it provides some gains for teachers, protects our Charter rights and increases support for stu- dents," Iker said. "We will be working to ensure the new gains in this agreement begin to flow as soon as possible. That means more class- room and specialist teachers in schools to help students, our teachers teaching on-call getting fair pay for a day's work, and a salary boost for all members." Of note is that the agreement runs for a re- cord-setting six years, from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2019, a first for the province. "We have reached an historic six-year agree- ment with teachers — this has never been done before in British Columbia's history, so that means five years of labour peace ahead of us," Clark said. "Those are five years in which we can spend our time — rather than bargaining and being in a constant state, as we have been for the past 30 years, of moving from one bargaining session to the next — we can sit and talk about the things that really matter." news Photo: Chris Wattie (Reuters) Premier Christy Clark said the deal with teachers means five years of labour peace, which will give both sides an opportunity to repair what she calls a 'dysfunctional' relationship. Collective agreement runs 6 years, sets new record in B.C. < from pg. 1 History lesson After 20 months at the bargaining table, teachers in British Columbia have inked a new collective agreement with the province. Here's how they got there. Feb. 4, 2013 BCPSEA and the BCTF begin bargaining March 6, 2014 After negotiations yield no results, the union holds a strike vote, with 89 per cent of members in favour April 2, 2014 Employer files an application at the labour relations board to investigate whether that dispute constitutes an essential services order April 11, 2014 Labour board finds those services with a direct impact on health and safety as essential, ordering the BCTF to provide notice before any walk out and that they should be available in any emergency situation May 20, 2014 BCTF serves notice of forthcoming rotating strikes May 26, 2014 BCPSEA partially locks out teachers, rotating strikes begin June 17, 2014 Full-scale strike begins across all districts Aug. 13, 2014 Vince Ready, veteran mediator, is called in Sept. 2, 2014 First day of school, teachers remain on picket lines Sept. 16 Tentative collective agreement reached Sept. 18 BCTF ratifies the deal with 86 per cent of votes Sept. 19 BCPSEA ratifies the deal unanimously Sept. 22 Students return to the classroom

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