October 3, 2005
Tri-Cities MLAs Back Legislation Protecting Students
Victoria -
Living up to the commitment to keep education as an essential service, Tri-City MLAs Iain Black and Harry Bloy support the decision to end the stalemate between the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the B.C Public School Employers’ Association, thus ensuring the province’s children will remain in the class room.
“Our government is acting now to ensure the province’s students do not lose any part of their school year,” said Iain Black, MLA for Port Moody – Westwood. “After 35 meetings without agreement on a single point, it’s clear the parties are destined to repeat the stalemate situation that’s existed since 1993. This approach will present an opportunity for both sides to start fresh under a more functional negotiating approach that will hopefully leave most of the acrimony behind.”
“We have always said education is an essential service and we would put the interests of students first,” said Harry Bloy, MLA for Burquitlam. “Our government takes great exception to the teacher’s union belief that a prolonged labour disruption will not have an impact on students. This is why we are acting now – to protect a child’s right to an education.”
The legislation, introduced today by Labour Minister Mike de Jong, will roll over the contract that expired in June 2004 and extend it to June 2006. On September 30, 2005, a Ministry of Labour fact-finder found that the BCTF and the B.C. Public School Employers Association had not agreed to a single issue after 35 meetings and had no hope of reaching a settlement.
Under the NDP, four-million student days were lost due to labour disputes and during the election campaign the NDP lobbied to remove education as an essential service. There has never been a negotiated agreement between the BCPSEA and the BCTF since the two were accredited as province-wide bargaining agents in 1993.
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