About a settlement that’s good for students…

By Bill Bennett

Kootenay East MLA

1. Congratulations to local teachers on a new six-year contract. Both the BC Teachers’ Federation and the employer compromised to reach a negotiated settlement that brings labour peace to our schools for a generation of students while not increasing the provincial debt or taxes.

2. A 7.25 per cent wage increase over six-years. Learning Improvement Fund increases $125 million to $500 million to address class composition issues, including $400 million for a new ‘Education Fund’ used exclusively to hire more teachers with specific skills.

3. Government also providing $100 million one-time payment to resolve any potential retroactive grievances from the court case & agreed on a process to deal with issue of class composition and class size should the courts reinstate any of the old contract language.

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