Alberta teachers reject mediator's recommendation, consider strike vote

Janet French · CBC News

· Posted: May 08, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Teachers successful Alberta's public, Catholic and Francophone schools person rejected a mediator's connection that would person fixed them an mean wage summation of 15 per cent over four years.

The connection didn't spell acold capable to address teachers' concerns astir crowded classrooms, packed with a increasing numbers of students who have complex and differing needs, said Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) president Jason Schilling.

"Teachers are feeling burned out and frustrated, and they wanted to spot more," Schilling told CBC News Wednesday.

Of the astir 36,000 teachers who voted earlier this week, astir 62 per cent rebuffed the recommendation, according to the association. The ATA, which has 51,000 members, had recommended members o.k. the offer.

Schilling says including class-size caps successful the statement was portion of the ATA's archetypal connection to the government.

B.C., Quebec, and Ontario are legally obligated to relationship for people sizes and complexity successful teachers' pay. Earlier this year, an arbitrator ruled the adjacent contract for Saskatchewan teachers must account for the fig of students with further needs successful their classrooms.

The mediator projected assembling moving groups to sermon however schools tin tackle an influx of students to the province, as well arsenic increasing numbers of English connection learners and students diagnosed with a disablement oregon aesculapian condition.

Alberta teachers don't privation much talking, Schilling said. They want capable backing for schools, including much teachers and enactment workers.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides is disappointed that the teachers rejected the offer, helium told reporters astatine the legislature Wednesday.

"We await to perceive from teachers astir what much it is that they're looking for and [to] spot however we tin enactment with them to get a woody done," Nicolaides said.

The woody included $400 cardinal to amended schoolroom conditions, helium added.

The provincial authorities has besides committed $8.6 cardinal to the School Construction Accelerator Program, a plan to physique 90 caller schools crossed Alberta in the adjacent 7 years to assistance alleviate a abstraction shortage.

"I'm assured that we're moving successful the close direction," Nicolaides said.

Teachers discussing onslaught authorization vote

ATA members are present successful a 14-day cooling disconnected period, aft which they tin ballot to use to the Alberta Labour Relations Board to authorize a onslaught vote.

If that passes, the relation says teachers will take a onslaught vote.

Should they ballot successful favour of a strike, teachers person 120 days successful which to instrumentality occupation action. That could impact options specified arsenic moving to rule, cancelling extracurricular activities, rotating strikes oregon a walkout.

Alberta teachers past walked disconnected the occupation successful 2002. School underfunding and people sizes were flash points successful the dispute.

During quality league Tuesday, Schilling said it is "very possible" teachers volition instrumentality occupation action, but helium could not foretell when.

The menace of disruption comes aft a wintertime of schoolhouse enactment idiosyncratic strikes involving thousands of employees successful Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, and different schoolhouse divisions. 

Nicolaides said helium hopes the parties tin debar a strike. But helium added that the acquisition ministry is readying for that anticipation — including the spectre of a teacher walkout erstwhile students are scheduled to constitute provincial standardized exams.

Opposition NDP acquisition professional Amanda Chapman was not amazed that teachers dismissed the mediator's recommendation, she told reporters Wednesday.

Chapman said teachers person received astir a five-per cent wage summation successful the past decade, portion the outgo of surviving has ballooned.

The proposal besides didn't spell acold capable to code schoolroom complexity, which galore teachers accidental is simply a bigger interest than their pay, she said.

"Teachers are truly not moving nether conditions that are conducive either for themselves arsenic teaching professionals and for the kids successful the classroom," Chapman said.