- Terrace Review —— Wednesday, August 28, 1991 A5

Johnston hints at forced compliance to contract roll-backs

Rita Johnston: There are a number .of options that will be available to us,

Premier Rita a Johnsion suggested in Terrace last week that the gov- ernment won't put up with school districts and teacher unions who don’t comply with orders from the Compensation Faimess Commis- sioner to re-negotiate their con- tracts. —

Although she won’t show her hand, Johnston says they have ways of dealing with the situation and direction would come from the

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Ministry of Labour in a report with specific recommendations. Follow- ing that, the government’s strategy would be a cabinet decision. "There are provisions made for the government, dealing with issues that are otherwise not being resolved,” Johnston said during an interview at Mount Layton Hot Springs. But when asked just what kind of "provisions" she had in mind, Johnston said only, "There

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-are a number of options that will

be available to us."

Johnston was then asked, if the teachers don’t have a problem, and school trustees don’t have a prob- lem, why should Lien have a prob- lem? "But the do have a problem," she replied. "They have a problem with the legislation. And the legis- lation is in my view needed."

Why is the legislation needed? "We have, for the past five years,"

says Johnston, “had a playing field

that was. not. level. Public sector wage increases were far surpassing those that were available in the private sector. In a number of cases in the private sector, we saw — particularly in the forest indus- try — we saw employees taking cuts in pay in order to preserve their jobs and allow for a continu- ation of operation of the company they worked for.

"You can’t have public sector employees dealt with in one way and private sector employees being dealt with in another way. We’re trying to level that playing field, and once it’s level, then we won't need the legislation. But we need it now."

Premier Johnston was in the area last Thursday to see "first hand" what is happening, and what is proposed to happen here. She, met

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representatives of Alcan, Ocelot and Eurocan, toured the Eurocan port facility and proposed Kitimat port site, met with the Kitimat

Chamber of Commerce, and travelled to Terrace for dinner with the Social Credit Constituency Association before heading home.

Re-negotiation order

brings no

The board of School District 88 and the Terrace District Teachers’ Union have been ordered by the Compensation Fairness Commission to reduce the amount of the salary award in their current contract, but there appears to be little effort poing in that direction.

"Everyone seems to be playing a waiting game," said board chairman Edna Cooper Monday. Superintendent Frank Hamilton said the contract is in abeyance, meaning that teachers are being paid according to the salary scale in their previous contract until something is done about the commission’s directive.

The new two-year contract

signed in the spring provides for

salary increases averaging about seven percent in each year. The commission has told the board that 4.89 percent is the maxi- mum increase it will allow.

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response

Hamilton said the teachers’ union has been notified of the directive but has not responded.

TDTU president Rob Brown was at a B.C. Teachers’ Feder- ation meeting last week and not available for comment. Union executive member Sandra Audet said she believes there will be no response to the board until an executive meeting can be called after school is in session. She said the conference Brown attended probably had on its agenda the Compensation Fair- ness Commission issue. "My understanding is that we will not re-negotiate. That’s the BCIF stand," she said. ©

The board 1991-92 budget is arranged around the seven per- cent salary increase. When asked what the effect would be on the budget if the commission direc- tive is followed, Hamilton . replied, "There are all sorts of permutations possible" and declined to speculate what those permutations might be. He added, "The board has a com- mitment to pay that amount to the teachers and it has every intention of honouring that com- mitment." The board is also under a legal obligation, he said, to comply with the commission’s | order.

Fledgling volunteer | group to stage fund raiser —

TERRACE — The recently estab- lished Terrace Community Volun- teer and Seniors’ Information Bureau needs some furniture and computer equipment before they open their office later in the fall, so volunteers from the group will be selling hamburgers and hot dogs this weekend in the Skeena Mall parking lot to raise money.

Their stand will be set up on the sidewalk at the east end of the mall on both Aug. 30 and 31. The bureau was created to recruit vol- unteers and match their interests and talents to local non-profit agencies in need of help. It also helps the agencies manage and coordinate their volunteers. Fund- ing for the organization came from a Healthy Communities Initiative grant from the B.C. Ministry of Health. The society was formed in May.

Burcau spokesman Bob Goodvin urges people to come out Friday and Saturday and support the new organization by chowing down on a hot dog or hamburger.