I’ve been reading quite a bit about the latest dispute between the BCTF (British Columbia Teacher’s Federation, the Province’s teacher’s union) and the BC Provincial government. Sadly, the government is threatening to legislate an agreement again and the sticking point seems to be all about the salaries. The BCTF had originally included a (in my opinion) outrageous demand that teachers be given the option to take a 26 week paid leave for compassionate care among other things that I didn’t think were necessary, but they have pared all of these away. They do, however, want a 3% increase in salary each year (http://bctf.ca/publications/bargainingbulletin.aspx) for cost of living an additional 3% market adjustment in years 2 and 3. Continue reading →