Supreme court backs B.C. teachers’ bargaining rights in long-running dispute
VICTORIA — British Columbia’s unionized teachers have won a long-standing battle with the provincial government over the rights to bargain class sizes in a ruling from the Supreme Court of Canada.
Glen Hansman, president of British Columbia’s Teachers’ Federation, says the decision means the provincial government will have to start hiring more teachers and classroom specialists.
The decision overturns a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that found the province did not violate teachers’ rights to negotiate in their collective agreement class sizes and the number of special-needs children in each class.
The province first imposed legislation that removed teachers’ ability to bargain class size and composition in 2002.