ETEA Congratulates Inlingua Teachers on Approving First Contract
VANCOUVER, Feb. 15, 2013 /CNW/ - Teachers at Inlingua, an English-as-a-Second-Language school in downtown Vancouver, have voted to ratify their first collective agreement. The vote follows four months of negotiations between a bargaining committee comprised of teachers from the school and the school's owner.
"My fellow instructors are pleased that one, we now have a transparent pay scale with established rules about moving up the scale and two, on top of that we have regular pay increases set out in the contract," said Jacob Pejvack a member of the bargaining team.
ETEA President Michael Wicks was even more sanguine. "Through unionization and helping to negotiate contracts, we are raising the profile of teachers in different branches of the education sector. Together we are claiming the respect, benefits and job security commensurate with the professional work that we all do."
The ETEA (Education and Training Employees Association) has been actively organizing instructors at ESL, Career Colleges and other educational institutions since the fall of 2007. Its efforts have yielded noticeable results. Prior to this the ETEA was a Union representing teachers at just one private language school. With the addition of Inlingua, the Union now represents teachers from seven colleges.
The chair of ETEA's Organizing Committee, Jean Ardila, alluded to this when he stated, "Thanks to the ongoing support from our federation, FPSE, we have been able to reach out to teachers and they have responded. We are confident that as more people learn about us, they will step forward and join ETEA."
Inlingua's contract takes effect January 1, 2013. Teachers there had voted to join the ETEA in a certification vote on July 16, 2012.
Meanwhile the ETEA salutes teachers at EF International, who have become the latest ESL school in Vancouver to become unionized. Despite strong opposition from the employer, teachers there never wavered. They were certified on January 28, 2013.
SOURCE: Education and Training Employees Association
Michael Wicks, President ETEA, 604-682-2465 or at [email protected]; Jean Ardila, Chairperson ETEA Organizing Committee, [email protected]; or visit the website: www.eteaunion.org
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