To the Editor,
Re: Teachers asking for too much, Letters, July 14.
I was stunned by these demands.
The answer should be no to 10 days leave for the death of any friend or relative. Five days for an immediate family member should be it.
The answer should be no to 26 weeks off a year, fully paid to provide compassionate care for any person. This is insane.
When would they work? A few weeks for an immediate family member might be reasonable.
We all know people who have moved to another province because they like the wages there better. That is an option for all of us. So choose where you want to live and earn.
A 21-per cent wage increase shouldn’t be on the table. Most of us are getting none or one or two per cent. The teachers also shouldn’t be getting a retirement bonus of five per cent for every year they have worked.
One of my kids graduated this year and one will next year and I will certainly be doing a happy dance about not having to deal with the school system again.
Both kids have had some great teachers. And both have had some horrid teachers who have had their jobs protected by their union.
Like any public service job, when you are no longer happy at your job and no longer good at it, you should be removed from it.
And when there are complaints, it is time to evaluate if they should still be teaching.
These demands have nothing to do with the kids, class sizes, EAs, or anything regarding the kids. This is about the teachers getting too big for their britches, getting unreasonable and elevating their worth.
I, too, am self-employed, so anything other than my regular pay has to come from me. When I have surgery this summer, my pay stops. When I am sick, on holidays (oh I forgot, I don’t get holidays), if one of my kids needs me, I don’t get paid if I don’t work.
Usually every time these contract talks come around, the teachers had my support but this year they do not.
When the time comes, legislate them back to work like everyone else and make them settle for whatever would be fair for everyone else.
Debbie Gunderson
Nanaimo