Union representing B.C. teachers is taking government back to court

VANCOUVER – The union representing 40,000 teachers in B.C. says it’s taking the provincial government back to court over laws ruled unconstitutional.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Susan Griffin ruled in April 2011 that the laws known as Bill 27 and Bill 28 were unconstitutional, and she gave the government until April 2012 to resolve the matter.

Passed in 2002, Bill 27 prohibited the inclusion of items like staffing, class sizes and composition limits in collective agreements.

Bill 28 amalgamated school districts and local bargaining units and imposed one collective agreement on teachers in newly amalgamated districts.

The B.C. Teachers Federation says the government failed to address Griffin’s ruling in a recent piece of legislation, so it’s heading to court in December.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Education says Bill 22 and the consultations leading up to its introduction met Griffin’s constitutional requirements.