If government press conferences were made into drinking games, the public might be more interested in politics.
If players downed a drink every time Premier Christy Clark mentioned the government had already settled with 150,000 other public sector workers, half of the public sector, at a press conference regarding the labour dispute with teachers Wednesday afternoon, participants would have felt buzzed.
On the heels of criticism Clark had only involved herself in the dispute with tweeted messages, she and Education Minister Peter Fassbender hosted a press conference Sept. 3 where only she spoke. The press conference came only days after Clark responded to such criticism by saying Fassbender was in charge.
Clark said classroom composition is the most important issue so the B.C. Teachers’ Federation should agree with the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association proposal on wages and benefits so negotiations can focus on this most important concern.
“The teachers’ union needs to come to the table with a proposal that’s realistic. I mean for heaven’s sakes, 150,000 other public sector employees who work just as hard have settled for far less,” she said. “They didn’t get a $5,000 signing bonus. They didn’t get unlimited massage. They didn’t get an extra day off every year.”
On whether BCPSEA and the government would strike a contested proposal that would supersede a Court of Appeal decision regarding classroom size and composition, Clark noted the government has tabled $375 million over five years to improve classroom composition. She said government would deal with the court decision when it’s made, but she didn’t want to wait to improve class composition until then.
Clark maintained teachers should suspend their strike so students can return to school while the parties negotiate at the bargaining table.
When pressed about how long government is willing to wait to see kids in classes and a negotiated settlement, Clark said she wouldn’t speculate about what government would do.
BCTF President Jim Iker will speak to the media at 2:30 p.m.
This story has been modified since it was first posted.
