Tentative agreement reached between B.C. teachers and employer, union says

FILE: A B.C. teacher holds up a sign during a protest outside the B.C. NDP convention in Victoria on Nov. 23, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito)

The B.C. Teachers' Federation has notified members that the union's bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement with the province on a new contract.

The agreement was reached Friday after "several long days of negotiations" over the last week, and "more than 50 days at the table since February," the union told members by email Sunday night.

The BCTF executive committee reviewed the terms over the weekend and decided to recommend the deal for a province-wide ratification vote, scheduled to take place from Nov. 16 to 18.

"If ratified, this agreement will take us from near the lowest paid teachers in Canada into the top tier. I am deeply grateful to the members of the team who worked so hard to get us to this point," union president Clint Johnston said in the email.

Under the three-year agreement, new members will be making around $6,000 to $8,500 more per year than they do now, which the union said would help address “recruitment and retention challenges as well as affordability issues for many members."

The highest paid teachers will also be getting a significant pay boost, of $10,000 to $13,500 more per year, which will push some of them past the $100,000 mark.

Johnston told members he's confident the deal is the best the union could get after challenging negotiations with the B.C. Public School Employers' Association, and that he doesn't believe job action would bring better terms.

But the BCTF president did credit members' support for the B.C. General Employees' Union strike earlier this year, in part, for the deal they were ultimately able to reach.

"The government knew that we were all standing together," Johnston said. "I’m very grateful to the BCGEU members that took on that action for all of us. We all benefited from it, as seen in the record salary increases teachers will receive if this deal is ratified."

The full details of the tentative agreement are not publicly available, but the union is expected to provide more information Monday.