Dear Editor,

Mr. Robson makes several errors in his commentary regarding the premier's recent announcement of her solution for labour peace with the BCTF.

He states, "Part of the government's proposal included recognizing that teachers have a right to bargain class size and composition _"

In fact, the government's proposal specifically states that public school teachers and their employers will not be able to bargain class size and composition.

The proposal suggests a parallel discussion take place, outside of the collective bargaining process.

Language about class size and composition was stripped from collective agreements across the province in 2002, when Bills 27 and 28 were enacted. Subsequently, these laws have been found to be unconstitutional, but they were replaced by identical language in Bill 22.

Mr. Robson also incorrectly implies that teachers are not "sitting down and logically discussing problems."

The reality is that representatives of the BCTF and BC Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA) had been engaged in discussions since December, and they successfully created a framework to guide the next round of collective bargaining, which began Feb. 4 (the current contract expires on June 30).

BCTF leaders dismissed Christy Clark's trial balloon of a 10-year contract because it was unnecessary, and representatives from the Ministry of Education were actually present as BCTF and BCPSEA created the bargaining framework "in a measured and constructive way." It was finalized the exact same week she made her baffling announcement in a Surrey school.

Lucinda Tooker, Maple Ridge