3 days ago
Swift News
Dozens of teachers rallied in North Delta Wednesday afternoon, calling on the provincial government to improve classroom conditions as collective bargaining between their union and the Ministry of Education and Child Care resumed this week. Dressed in red as part of the province-wide #RedForBCEd campaign, members of the Delta Teachers’ Association and CUPE 1091 gathered outside the constituency office of Delta North MLA Ravi Kahlon on Jan. 28, waving signs on both sides of 112th Street and urging the government to come to the table with a “meaningful” commitment to improve classroom conditions. “We have a decent salary proposal on the table. If this was just about money, we could sign off on this and walk away,” Alison Kerr, president of the Delta Teachers’ Association, told the Reporter at Wednesday’s rally.
“Why are we doing this? Because they’re not funding the working conditions of teachers, which directly impacts kids and how they’re supported in the classroom. That is something I think is important because this is not about money for us; we’ve got the money, we’re pretty happy with what they’ve proposed. Why we’re [rallying] is they didn’t bring the other pot of money for all the supports: your ratios, class size, composition — all that stuff that affects kids, affects teachers’ ability to go one-on-one with kids.” On Jan. 13, the BC Teachers’ Federation declared an impasse in collective bargaining negotiations over classroom conditions, leading teachers across the province to hold rallies and send thousands of letters to Premier David Eby and members of his cabinet. Since then, the government has come forward with a commitment to address BCTF’s key priorities, including teacher workload and improved learning conditions for students, and contract negotiations have resumed. “The progress made shows that collective action and advocacy work,” BCTF president Carole Gordon said in a press release. “While there is still work to be done at the table, there is now a real opportunity to reach an agreement that supports teachers and students.” Areas where the BCTF believes progress can be made include funding more counsellors (a press release from the union notes the NDP has yet to deliver on its campaign promise of one counsellor for every school); more preparation time for teachers to make lesson plans, connect with parents, and give individualized support and attention to every student; and salary improvements at the low end of the pay grid to attract more new teachers to the profession.