It's called collective bargaining! They will negotiate what is hopefully a fair contract. If in the end the teachers perform robbery and get a gold plated agreement then you can b*tch. If it is in line with other jurisdictions and professionals then there is nothing to complain about. You don't even know what the govt is offering other than 6 years and a signing bonus. Do you really want underpaid, spineless and resentful people teaching the next generation?
If I remember correctly Gordon Campbell legislated away their right to a full strike a few years back. Only thing he did good was the essential services legislation.
I don't know about the Great White North, but down here in the Not-So-Great Muddy Grey-Brown South, the impetus for teachers' unions was the fact that the school boards would regularly screw teachers, frequently not even paying them the agreed wage.
Teachers give a service for money. They are entitled to be paid whatever they can get, just like everybody else. They are entitled, as the law currently stands, to unite and bargain collectively for whatever they can get.
I'm all in favour of the government bargaining hard. But really, the government here is in the exact same position as a corporation. They have a product to deliver, customers waiting, and they need their labour force. And corporations also spend "other people's money" (the shareholders). If you don't like the deal, do what shareholders do. Vote out the board of directors and the officers.
