BC Teachers Strongly Approve 3-Year Contract With Salary Increase and Added Benefits

Public school teachers in British Columbia have approved a new three-year contract.

About 50,000 members of the BC Teachers Federation were eligible to vote and the vote was 94% in favor, according to a union statement.

BCTF President Clint Johnston said the union has “achieved historic gains in helping union members struggling with the affordability crisis.”

The deal, which came after more than 50 days of negotiations with the BC Public School Employers Association, which negotiates on behalf of the state government, will allow Johnston to hire more teachers and said it can be maintained.

This would raise a new teacher’s salary to $8,500 by the end of the third year, while BC’s highest-paid educator would earn an additional $13,500 over the same period. first time.

He said the BCTF is urging the government to publicly report on the impact of the ongoing teacher shortage and take steps to “ensure that schools are adequately staffed and that students receive the support they need.” said to apply pressure.

Other improvements to the deal include an additional 10 minutes of primary teacher preparation time, enhanced health and maternity benefits, and state minimum standards for professional development funding, the union previously said. .

The contract was signed at the end of October and teachers held a ratification vote in mid-November.

At the time the interim deal was announced, the Public School Employers Association said the deal would provide certain wage increases, including inflation protection, while the government would have resources to protect services and support economic recovery. said it would comply with state sharing recovery orders that set up

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