Re: Guest column by Geoff Johnson: "Clark, teachers must get to yes"
I agree with former school superintendent Geoff Johnson when he wrote in his guest column "If Premier Christy Clark really wants 10 years of peace with teachers, she's going about it in the wrong way." The only way that public school teachers and the province are going to find a negotiated settlement is through respectful negotiations at a bargaining table. Sadly just last week the respectful part was not in evidence when the Premier announced through the media that she was going to change the bargaining mandate between the parties who have been having very good private talks at the table for several months already. Ever since then education minister Clark tabled Bills 27 and 28 in January 2002 that ripped up teacher's contracts and violated their Charter rights there has been acrimony and disruption. Those bills were ruled illegal by the B.C. Appeals Court in 2011 and this fall the government will be back in court to learn what damages they will have the taxpayers on the hook for. The Premier is now in a position to change the dynamic by ensuring the mandate she gives the employers group enables a settlement at the table that respects the Charter rights of teachers and the work they do. What she chooses to do will either repair the relationship or speak to what we can expect from her leadership.
Matt Pearce
President PGDTA
