B.C. teachers strongly approve three-year contract with pay boost, added benefits

VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s public school teachers have ratified a new three-year contract.

Nearly 50,000 members of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation were eligible to cast a ballot and a statement from the union says the vote was 94 per cent in favour.

BCTF president Clint Johnston says the union has “achieved some historic gains that will help members who are struggling with the affordability crisis.”

The contract was reached after more than 50 days of bargaining with the B.C. Public School Employers Association, which negotiates on behalf of the provincial government, and Johnston says the deal will help recruit and retain more teachers.

It boosts annual salaries for new teachers as much as $8,500 by the end of the third year while B.C.’S highest-paid educators will earn up to $13,500 more over the same period, which Johnston says pushes them above the $100,000-per-year threshold for the first time.

He says the BCTF will now press the government to report publicly about the impacts of a continuing teacher shortage and take action to “ensure schools are properly staffed and students get the support they need.”