It’s been a difficult year with many challenges: the prevalence model, the Jackson arbitration, bargaining and now a pandemic.
It should be noted that we’ve had more wins than losses this year. It’s astounding we managed to get a deal in bargaining, both locally and provincially, without job action, in the middle of a pandemic. We managed to push back on the decision to institute a prevalence model of funding which would have destroyed special needs funding. We didn’t get a win in the Jackson arbitration, but, since we saved our class size and composition language it softened that blow and we continue to fight back on that front.
Together, members have taken action here locally to support these provincial efforts. Members came to mark-ins, sent letters to MLAs, presented at board meetings and a whole host of small meaningful actions that made our successes possible.
We are now facing the greatest challenge any of us have ever faced, in this pandemic. Teachers took a full brick and mortar system in place and turned it into emergency online remote learning, in about a week. The BCTF led the discussion between the provincial education partners and the Public Sector Employers’ Council in developing Occupational Health & Safety protocols for the return.
The CTA continues to press the employer for strong planning and organization around the reopen mandated by the Provincial Health Officer (Dr. Henry), the Premier and the Ministry of Education. The CTA advocates for additional needs, accommodations and resources in place in schools to help members manage the return now and the return to, hopefully, to more regular instruction in the fall.
Working together to address the unique needs in the school and the collective needs across the district is going to be imperative going into the end of the school year and the fall. The CTA looks forward to working with both the outgoing and the incoming Executive Committee to create the best and safest circumstances for instruction in this new reality.
Yours in solidarity,
Ken Christensen