The Canadian Teachers’ Federation stands up for locked out BC teachers
Teachers under siege in British Columbia have found a supportive union ally in their fight against aggressive government tactics as an imposed lockout disrupts classrooms across the province.
The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) raised its voice in favour of BC teachers at the Unite for Quality Education Conference in Montreal where education union leaders have gathered from around the world.
The president of the CTF, Diane Woloschuk, condemned The government of BC for its “oppressive bullying tactics” that have seen teachers’ negotiating rights stripped, despite the courts calling the government’s actions “unconstitutional.”
“The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) stands with teachers of British Columbia in their struggle for a fair deal for teachers and better support for kids”, explained Woloschuk. “CTF calls on the government of British Columbia to bargain in good faith, restore class size and composition agreements, and recognize the importance of appropriate salaries to ensure student learning and success.”
The CTF called on Education International (EI) and all member organisations at the conference to join the protest by signing a petition that will be sent to the government in Victoria, BC. The petition outlined the challenges that BC teachers are facing, such as:
- Some of the lowest salaries in Canada
- Having their negotiated contracts stripped by government legislation
- Being locked out of schools since Monday, banning them from recess break and lunch breaks, as well as preventing them from being at school 45 minutes before, or after school
“The teachers of British Columbia are already among the lowest paid in the country and their working conditions were previously stripped by the government in a manner the courts found violated their rights,” read a CTF statement. “We encourage the Employers and Government of British Columbia to return to the bargaining table and to adopt good faith practices in dealing with their teachers.”
The lockout is also denying teachers the right to hold meetings, as well as seeing their pay reduced by 10 percent for taking part in labour actions, which began this week.
