Education Minister George Abbott received an unusually warm welcome from members of the B.C. Teachers' Federation -- a break with tradition, especially ahead of contract talks.
Almost half the delegates at the union's annual convention in Victoria gave the new minister a standing ovation Tuesday.
Abbott told the teachers he will always listen to their views, even if they do not agree on the many difficult issues facing the two sides as they prepare to sit down and hash out a new contract for the 41,000-strong federation.
"We will have lots of things that will divide us in the weeks and months ahead there is no question about that," he said. "Labour relations alone will be an area that will be fraught with many challenges I'm sure on both sides of the table."
The current teachers' contract expires on June 30.
Abbott has previously said the government will stick to its current zero wage-increase policy for public sector deals, including the teachers.
He said the province is still recovering from a recession and pay increases are not on the table for any public sector contracts. Abbott said the government is open to including contract reopening clauses if the economy rebounds.
Labour negotiations have traditionally been acrimonious between the federation and government, with New Democrat, Liberal and Social Credit governments resorting to legislation to end disputes.
The B.C. Liberals passed legislation shortly after their election in 2001 that made public education an essential service and limited the level of job action teachers could take.
In June 2006, teachers accepted the five-year contract that included wage and benefit increases that amounted to about 16 per cent and bonuses worth up to $4,700 each.
Federation president Susan Lambert told teachers the union is seeking a wage increase this year, but has yet to calculate its demands.
She told the convention on Monday that B.C. teachers were the third highest paid teachers in Canada five years ago when they signed their contract, but have since fallen to eighth place.
Lambert said Alberta teachers will receive a negotiated 4.3-per cent wage increase in September.
She said teacher satisfaction is also an issue of vital importance in the next contract, with teacher surveys revealing almost 97 per cent of teachers believe improvements to class size and composition are also key issues.
One Grade 6 teacher told Abbott she is often overburdened working in a classroom with more than three special needs students, but she continues working because she considers her efforts to help children learn under difficult circumstances heroic.
Lambert said there are tens of thousands of over-crowded classrooms in the province, and teachers want smaller classes with more resources for students with special needs.
She said she knows of a teacher with a split Grade 6/7 classroom of 30 students where up to 13 of the students are classified with individual needs.
Abbott said his goal as education minister is to improve the job satisfaction of teachers and work to ensure every B.C. student has a rewarding education experience.
"What I hope to do is see us work together to take this good education system we have in the province and make it a very good, or, let's dream expansively for the moment, an excellent education system in this province," he said.
