After four months of consultations with education stakeholders, Christy Clark believes the Ministry of Education has a framework for 10 years of labour peace with the province's teachers.

At a media briefing at Surrey's École Elementaire K.B. Woodward, Premier Christy Clark and Education Minister Don McRae unveiled Working Together For Students: A Framework For Long Term Stability In Education that re-evaluates the essential services designation for teachers, indexes teacher salaries with other public employees, provides $100 million Priority Education Investment Fund, and creates an education policy committee composed of government, trustees, and teachers.

Clark repeated the hope she expressed last fall that this framework would make 10-year teacher agreements possible.

"Can we, working alongside with teachers, come up with an agreement that will ensure that students who are in Grade 2 today, can have an entire school career that is free of labour disruption?" she asked.

"What we're talking about today isn't about government, and it isn't about the teachers union, it's about kids."

Salary increases will be indexed to the public sector agreements for nurses, college faculty, and government employees. If the indexing started 10 years ago, government says teachers' salaries would have increased by an average of 2.0 per cent, as opposed to the 1.8 per cent average teachers have received.

"Had we used this model in the last decade, teachers would be farther ahead today than they were in the last system, and they would be further ahead without all the heartache that's gone on with all the labour disruptions that we've seen in the last decade," said Clark.

She noted the education policy council would be the first time in government history that teachers have a chance to affect education policy. The hope is that by clearing the bargaining table of any issues that don't pertain directly to teachers' jobs, the bargaining process will be easier.

Government also hinted at reinstating provincial bargaining for some issues, as well as recognizing teachers' right to strike, both issues addressed by the BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) in their report to government on improving bargaining, hand delivered to Minister McRae in December. Other stakeholder submissions can be read here.

It's unclear whether this redevelopment of teacher bargaining could happen before provincial elections in May. Government says this is just the first step, and negotiations will continue with all stakeholders, including the BCTF, the BC School Trustees Association, the BC Public School Employers Association, and the BC Principals and Vice Principals Association.

"We need to take the time to ensure the final product is a product of input, and no one will benefit from trying to rush it through. We're trying to get an agreement here, we're not trying to get a decision by government," Clark said.

The BCTF have called a press conference for this afternoon at their Vancouver headquarters to respond to the announcement. But Clark, anticipating negative reaction to this plan from some people, said she isn't swayed by naysayers.

"I believe this can be done, I believe this needs to be done, because we all have the same interests at heart, and that's making sure we are working for the kids that our education system is intended to serve," she said.

Katie Hyslop reports on education and youth issues for The Tyee. Follow her on Twitter.