The education budget in B.C. for 2012/13 is $14.7 billion with a taxpayer population of 4,510,858; Alberta for 2012/13 is $7.1 billion with taxpayer population of 3,724,832; Ontario for 2012-2013 is $24 billion with taxpayer population of 13,210,667.
Pay cheque tax rates for B.C. is 5.06 per cent, Ontario is 5.05 per cent and Alberta is 10 per cent. Teachers are the highest paid in Ontario because of the number of taxpayers, Alberta next because of the high tax deductions and B.C. is third.
Calgary Herald, Feb. 8, headline: “Alberta teacher talks breakdown.” Talks began in September 2011, and will not continue until after the spring 2012 provincial election. The Alberta government is asking for a teacher wage freeze with zero increase.
The Ontario government is proposing a teacher wage freeze with zero increase.
Teachers work 188 days per year after all professional days, stat holidays, Christmas and Easter breaks, and summer holidays.
Regular taxpayers work 238 days after stat holidays, and maybe get 15 days of annual vacation. Your B.C. Pension Plan contribution is about 24 per cent per month based on your salary, with 13 per cent of that paid by B.C. taxpayers.
You complain of portable classroom and student class size – exactly what is happening Alberta and Ontario.
Teachers have a excellent benefit package in comparison to fellow taxpayers with regular jobs in the private sector.
A Port Alberni teacher, age 57, retired with a B.C. teacher pension of $2,300 per month, in 2008. If he waited until 2011, he would get $3,000 per month.
Now add Canada Pension Plan if he wishes to take it at age 60. He is living very comfortably.
If he waits until age 65 to take Canada Pension Plan, and add on Old Age Security – what a wonderful life.
In summary, I don’t believe you have anything to complain about.
Teachers have excellent wages and great benefits with a lot of time off.
You are complaining when the exact same thing happens in Alberta and Ontario.
The world is in an economic crises, but that is part of history and will turn around, but that we have to wait for.
The minister of education is trying to tell teachers that pay raises will come when the world crisis turns around, but no, you want everything now.
Unbelievable, from well-educated people like yourselves.
Joe Sawchuk