Education minister says union ’playing politics’ with Alberta students over strike threat

Negotiations between Alberta teachers and the provincial government have broken down days before most kindergarten-to-Grade 12 students return to the classroom.

In a joint news conference Friday, Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides and Minister of Finance Nate Horner said mediated contract negotiations with the Alberta Teachers’ Association have reached an impasse, pinning the failed talks on the union.

Teachers and administrators at all public, Catholic and francophone schools across Alberta are in a legal strike position, with 51,000 teachers are prepared to walk off the job if the union and school board representatives are unable to reach a deal.

Horner said the province is facing a ballooning deficit of $6.5 billion, $1.3 billion more than initially projected.

He said the province made an offer that would have cost the province $750 million over the life of the contract and he is disappointed that the union walked away from talks.

He said public sector agreements must be financially sustainable and strike a balance between fair wages and easing the current pressures on taxpayers but Alberta has been committed to striking a fair deal.

The bargaining team walked away from this offer, he said. That’s why I’m disappointed to be here today.

COMING UP LIVE | Alberta Teachers’ Association to provide bargaining update:

Alberta Teachers’ Association to provide bargaining update

Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling will hold a media availability for a bargaining update and to answer questions from media.

Horner said the deal on the table is in line with wages seen in other regions and reflects what the market demands.

Depending on where this goes, I don’t see that offer changing, he said.

Nicolaides said it has become increasingly clear the union is only interested in playing politics with Alberta students by threatening to strike.

A 12-per-cent salary increase for teachers was offered along with a pledge to hire 3,000 more teachers across the province, he said.

Nicolaides said the promise to hire new teachers was the primary change from Alberta’s original offer but he said the union has now changed tact and is asking for higher wages and fewer teachers.

There seem to be some changing requests here.

He said he can’t understand why Alberta’s generous and competitive proposal was declined. He said no counter offer was made by the union before talks broke down.

When asked about a lockout after school resumes Tuesday, Nicolaides said government officials are hopeful they can avoid labour disruption.

I think we’re very, very close, he said. I would encourage union leadership to come back to the table.

He said the union is not being transparent about what they want from negotiations. He said the ATA has claimed to be advocating for improved classroom resources but are solely interested in securing higher wages for their members.

I’m quite baffled, to be completely honest, Nicolaides said. We are giving union leaders exactly what they asked for and now they have walked away.

The ATA has scheduled its own news conference with association president Jason Schilling expected to speak with reporters at 10:30 a.m. MT. You can watch it here live.

It’s the latest in increasingly tense contract negotiations, which have put parents on edge as students prepare for a return to the classroom next week.

In a June strike vote, almost 95 per cent of teachers who voted said they were in favour of taking strike action. Nearly 39,000 teachers cast ballots online and in person between June 5 and 8.

That followed teachers’ rejection of a mediator’s proposal that would give teachers at least 12 per cent in wage increases over four years.

Schilling said the June vote signalled that pay, classroom conditions, crowding and resources for students were unacceptable.

Schilling has said that for too long, teachers have been propping up a system that is under-resourced and overburdened.

This article is republished from RCI.