To the editor:
Teachers do not want to be like lemmings. But because of the pressure of their union they may have to be. I believe that many teachers when asked privately “Do you want to go on strike?” would reply, “No.”
I wonder if it has occurred to anybody that the details of the original strike vote have changed. When teachers voted to go on strike they were asking for 13.9 per cent over three years. The government was trying to implement a 10-year contract. That’s all changed. Now the details are different. The government is offering a six-year contract and the BCTF is now asking for 15.9 per cent over four years.
Add to this that the government has offered a $1,200 signing bonus and the threat of a five per cent pay cut if teachers don’t sign. Although I find this one aspect very repugnant, it doesn’t change the fact that the entire landscape has now changed.
I wonder what would happen if teachers were given another strike vote right now.
Richard Knight,
Kelowna
