The Alberta government says the province’s teachers’ union has broken off negotiations despite what it described as a significant offer to address classroom pressures and wages.
In a joint statement issued Aug. 28, Treasury Board President and Finance Minister Nate Horner and Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) rejected proposals that included both salary increases and new teacher hires.
Government outlines offer
According to the statement, the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) offered to hire 1,000 additional teachers each year for three years at an estimated total cost of $750 million. The proposal, tabled Aug. 26, was described as matching a request the ATA made earlier this year.
The offer also included a 12 per cent salary increase over four years, along with further adjustments aimed at raising compensation for 95 per cent of members. The government said newer teachers would see larger gains to help with recruitment and retention.
“Three thousand more teachers would certainly have a significant impact in alleviating classroom pressures and improve the education landscape for teachers and students,” the statement said.
Union rejects proposal
Horner and Nicolaides said the ATA bargaining team turned down the offer the following day and suggested hiring fewer teachers to shift funds into higher salaries instead.
“The union’s strategy and tactics have been exposed and called out,” the ministers said. “We cannot sit idle while the public, parents and students are manipulated into supporting a union that has shown its primary interest is in diverting supports away from the classroom to further drive up teacher compensation.”
The ATA has been running a public campaign for better classroom conditions, which the government said was considered in forming its offer.