By Fakiha Baig
With less than a week to go before a provincewide strike by Alberta teachers, not only are there no talks scheduled, the two sides can’t agree on who should make the first move, says the head of the teachers’ union.
“I disagree that the ball is in the union’s court,” Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, said in an interview Tuesday. “The ball is in both of our courts. We both have our hands on the steering wheel when it comes to bargaining.
“There’s nothing scheduled, though, (for talks) at the moment, but it’s always a possibility.”
His comments come after members of the association voted overwhelmingly Monday to reject the latest offer from Premier Danielle Smith’s government.
The association had previously set a strike deadline of Monday, Oct. 6, and Schilling said it appears the strike will be a reality. He said the teachers won’t walk picket lines, but instead hold rallies and demonstrations.
A walkout would affect more than 700,000 students in 2,500 public, separate and francophone schools.
“Teachers don’t want to be on strike,” said Schilling.
“They want to be in their classrooms or working with students. But they also want the tools and the resources available to them so that they can do their jobs really well.”
He added, “I know that this is causing some anxiety and concern among parents, but I also have heard from a lot of parents who are very supportive of teachers.”
Close to 90 per cent of union members who voted chose to reject the deal put forward by both sides.
The teachers said no to the offer of a 12 per cent pay raise over four years, and a promise to hire 3,000 more teachers is a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed to catch up on wages and reduce overcrowded classrooms.
The offer, which stemmed from a brief bargaining session earlier this month following a break in talks, also would have covered the cost of COVID-19 vaccines for teachers. Overall, the deal closely resembled a proposal teachers rejected earlier this year.
“With two failed ratification votes, I am left questioning whether the union fully understands what their members are seeking,” Finance Minister Nate Horner said in a statement Monday.
“If teachers did not want this deal, then why was it proposed by the (union) in the first place?”
Horner added, “It is now up to the union to determine its next steps.”
The premier was set to hold a news conference later Tuesday to discuss the impasse.
Smith previously said that with her United Conservative Party government facing a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, there’s no more money to sweeten the deal with teachers, and if teachers want higher wages, that money has to come from classroom supports.
The Opposition NDP says the government needs to stop insulting teachers by offering the same terms again and again.
