February 21, 2019
Dear NVSD Community:
Subject: Bargaining update
The North Vancouver Board of Education looks forward to working cooperatively and respectfully with both of our partner unions towards successful renewal of our two collective agreements. These agreements are with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 389 and the North Vancouver Teachers' Association (NVTA) respectively. Collective agreements are not intended to be all inclusive documents. Rather, they outline the terms and conditions of employment that have been agreed to by the parties.
For CUPE Local 389, bargaining is 100 per cent local. All matters are bargained by the local parties and are subject to ratification by local members and the North Vancouver Board of Education. There are two provincial parties that must also ratify the agreement – the BC Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA), which represents all 60 of the province's public boards of education, and CUPE BC.
For NVTA, there is both provincial ("main table") and local ("local table") bargaining. Matters eligible for bargaining at each table are determined by the provincial parties – British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) and BCPSEA. Typically, monetary matters and matters of provincial significance, such as class size and composition provisions, are bargained at the main table. Local table bargaining involves the local parties (NVTA and the North Vancouver Board of Education) and includes non-monetary matters and matters specific to the North Vancouver School District.
Local bargaining with both unions has not yet commenced, but is anticipated to begin within the next three months. Both collective agreements expire June 30, 2019, but all terms and conditions within the agreements remain in effect, even past this date, until negotiated otherwise. Legal job action cannot occur until after the current contract expiry date of June 30, 2019, and until after bargaining unit members have voted in favour of job action. It is our hope that new collective agreements will be successfully negotiated without job action.
If you would like further information about bargaining, please visit:
We will endeavour to keep you informed over the course of bargaining.
Sincerely,
Mark Pearmain
Superintendent, North Vancouver School District
