BC teachers told to get real on wages and benefits
Posted August 2, 2011 4:13 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The negotiating climate between teachers and the provincial government is tense enough already, and the latest opinion piece from the Fraser Institute probably won’t help.
The article, published in Business In Vancouver, suggests BC educators already make too much money.
The right-wing think tank’s study says the income of average BC families grew by only 0.8 per cent over the past four years, compared to a 2.5 per cent wage increase teachers received in their last collective agreement in 2006.
Article co-author Niels Veldhuis feels they are in need of a reality check.
“In terms of the people paying for the teachers salaries – the taxpayers – they’re the ones that have to be concerned, and that’s why the [BC Teachers’ Federation] is not being realistic,” he says.
Veldhuis is also calling on Premier Christy Clark to tie wages to performance in any future contract.
“Some teachers of course deserve pay increases because they’re doing extremely well. Other teachers deserve to be fired, because they’re not fulfilling their jobs,” he claims. “Unfortunately, neither are the case in the current compensation system.”
Glen Hantsman with the BCTF says the Fraser Institute is hardly a credible source when it comes to education.
He feels the public would agree teachers should be compensated as well their counterparts in other provinces.
“Teachers in Alberta and Ontario have much better working conditions as well as much better salary and benefits, so it’s a bit much to say we need a reality check when things have eroded so much in BC over the past nine, 10 years,” he tells News1130.
Hantsman is confident a deal can be reached before the start of school next month, but admits both sides remain far apart.
The old contract expired on June 30.
