Teachers seek hefty salary hike
Minister says 15- per- cent increase a non- starter
A proposal by B. C. publicschool teachers for a 15- per- cent wage hike over three years was shot down immediately by Education Minister George Abbott.
“There’s not huge cause for optimism here,” Abbott said Tuesday after the B. C. Teachers’ Federation revealed, more than 10 months after bargaining began, its salary expectations for a new contract.
The proposal includes a three-percent wage boost each year in a three- year deal to cover cost- of- living increases, and a three- per- cent market adjustment in the second and third years to bring B. C. salaries more into line with those offered in Alberta and Ontario.
The BCTF says the first- year cost would be $ 300 million, with an extra $ 130 million in each of the next two years.
But Abbott said Tuesday the wage hikes and other contract enhancements won’t wash because they violate the government’s net- zero mandate for public- sector unions.
In earlier comments, Abbott said a pay hike for teachers would not only put a dent in the provincial budget but also open the door to wage increases for other public- sector unions that have already settled under the net- zero mandate. That’s because those deals contain “me- too” clauses allowing renegotiation if the mandate changes.
Two- thirds of B. C. public servants have signed deals under the mandate, including the Canadian Union of Public Employees locals that represent public- school support staff.
BCTF president Susan Lambert said Tuesday: “It’s perfectly reasonable that B. C. teachers want to keep up with inflation and move a little way toward catching up with teachers in other provinces.”
Teachers argue that with inflation around three per cent, the net- zero mandate is equivalent to a pay cut, and B. C. is at risk of losing its best teachers to other provinces.
In tabling its wage proposal, the union reduced some demands and dropped others, including its call for an early retirement incentive program and a guaranteed wage for teachers-on-call.
The parties were still bargaining Tuesday but there was no sign of progress.
The BCTF says the average minimum salary for most of its teachers is $ 47,539, which ranks 10th in the country, while the average maximum salary of $ 74,353 is ninth.
The B. C. Public School Employers’ Association ( BCPSEA) says average B. C. salaries are actually fourth highest in the country, but its ranking excludes the three territories, which must pay more due to their relative isolation, and doesn’t take into account a recent pay hike in Saskatchewan.
However, it is generally agreed that Alberta and Ontario have the best pay scales, with salaries $ 10,000 to $ 20,000 a year higher than in B. C.
Labour experts say cross- country comparisons are all but impossible, given the different salary scales and education requirements. And comparisons are of questionable value anyway, given there is no shortage of teachers in B. C.
If boards of education were free to pay whatever the market dictates, salaries would likely fall because of the abundance of unemployed or underemployed teachers in the province, said Ken Thornicroft, professor of law and labour relations at the University of Victoria. “There’s no economic crisis dictating that we have to pay teachers more in order to attract more people to the profession.”
While the BCTF and BCPSEA are still negotiating, the smart money is betting on another legislated settlement.
“You don’t have to be an expert to figure it out because that’s the way it’s happened every other time except once,” said Mark Thompson, a professor emeritus with the Sauder School of Business at the University of B. C., referring to the only collective agreement reached by the BCPSEA and the BCTF in 2006.
That deal was settled only after the government offered public servants a signing bonus to guarantee labour peace during the 2010 Olympics.
Teachers aren’t the only ones complaining about poor pay in B. C. public schools. Principals and vice- principals say their salaries are also near the bottom among their peers in Canada and they want to catch up too.
“We actually earn less than most principals in other provinces,” Jameel Aziz, president of the B. C. Principals’ and Vice- Principals’ Association, said in an interview. “B. C. has not kept pace with other provinces when it comes to salaries for pretty much everybody in education.”
Salary comparisons are difficult for principals and vice- principals, who are not in a union. Neither their provincial association nor the BCPSEA was able to provide a cross- country comparison.
But principals and vice- principals are watching the BCTF negotiations with interest and expect any raise for teachers would result in a pay hike for them too. Their association argues they deserve a larger raise than teachers because the differences in salary between a headteacher and a new viceprincipal are so slight that it’s difficult to recruit new school leaders.
According to the BCPSEA, the average vice- principal salary in B. C. is $ 74,777 and the average principal salary is $ 93,436.
Meanwhile, UBC’S Thompson blames the current deadlock in the teachers’ dispute on the provincial bargaining structure that has been in place since 1994 and a law passed by the Liberals in 2001 declaring education an essential service. By denying the BCTF the right to strike, the government stripped it of an important tool that would have put pressure on both parties to reach a deal, he said.
Complicating the matter is the longsimmering feud over class size and composition, which is being discussed at another table.
The BCTF has been engaged in a limited strike since September but as long as classes continue and teachers collect full pay, it’s having little effect ( except on school principals who have to do the work that teachers refuse).
According to education ministry figures, the average annual salary for a B. C. public school teacher is $ 71,322 for 10 months employment, with the smallest district — Stikine — offering the highest salary of $ 89,198 at the top pay grade.
Independent schools generally pay a bit less than public schools, but try to keep up in order to attract good teachers, said Peter Froese, executive director for the Federation of Independent School Associations in B. C.
In northern parts of the province, independent schools pay about 80 per cent of public- school salaries, but in Metro Vancouver, most pay 90 to 95 per cent, he said. The elite independent schools, described as university-preparatory schools, offer pay that is competitive with or better than the public system’s.
In the five- year contract that expired June 30, BCTF members received a total pay increase ranging from 14 to 21.5 per cent, which includes grid increases and remote and rural allowances.