Calgary teachers could walk off the job before the end of the school year, as tensions escalate between the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the province over wages, class sizes and a lack of student supports. Read More
ATA president Jason Schilling noted Alberta has the lowest education spending of any province in Canada, and said schools are now seeing the consequences of ‘chronic underfunding’
ATA president Jason Schilling noted Alberta has the lowest education spending of any province in Canada, and said schools are now seeing the consequences of ‘chronic underfunding’
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Calgary teachers could walk off the job before the end of the school year, as tensions escalate between the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the province over wages, class sizes and a lack of student supports.
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Teachers across the province overwhelmingly rejected a proposed collective agreement put forward by a mediator over the weekend, citing ongoing frustrations over class sizes, student supports and wages that fail to keep up with inflation. In a record-setting turnout, nearly 36,000 members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) cast their votes online May 2 to 5. The results show that 61.99 per cent voted to reject the deal, while 37.57 per cent supported the recommendations. Just 158 teachers abstained.
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Teachers are now in a 14-day cooling-off period, after which the ATA will move to a strike authorization vote. If passed, it would pave the way for a formal strike vote. With that in place, teachers would have 120 days to initiate job action.
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ATA president Jason Schilling confirmed Wednesday it is possible teachers could take job action before the school year ends.
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He said teachers are “frustrated and angry,” particularly in Calgary, with class sizes, classroom complexity issues and salaries being the top issues heading into negotiations in January.
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A January ATA member survey found most teachers had class sizes between 30 and 35 students, with 13 per cent reporting more than 35. Schilling said he’s spoken with Alberta teachers managing classes with more than 50 students.
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“We know that, in Calgary particularly, there are lots of incidences where we’ve got overcrowded classrooms,” he said. “We have teachers teaching classrooms in libraries and book rooms and hallways . . . to help accommodate the fact that we have a lack of space within our schools.”
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Schilling also said the mediator’s recommendations failed to make up for years of stagnation on wages.
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“Teachers are looking to make sure that their salary reflects the hard work that they do, just like every other Albertan in the province,” he said. “They also want a salary that is going to meet or beat inflation.”
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He said strain on teachers is also driven by insufficient resources to meet students’ complex needs.
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“We’re seeing some of the most complex students that we’ve ever seen in our careers,” he said, pointing to “English language learners, students with special needs” and mental-health concerns.
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“We don’t have the resources to address all of their needs, and that’s a shameful fact.”
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‘The status quo is not good enough’: ATA
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Schilling noted Alberta has the lowest education spending of any province in Canada, and said schools are now seeing the consequences of “chronic underfunding.”