The Alberta Teachers’ Association says the province is delaying and sabotaging the bargaining course of after the federal government introduced it has filed a criticism with the Labour Relations Board in opposition to the union representing the province’s 51,000 lecturers.
Finance Minister Nate Horner stated Monday the criticism is linked with a doc that was distributed by the union after it set a strike date of Oct. 6. final week.
The authorities says the doc consisted of false claims, together with that Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) doesn’t have the mandate to barter class complexity, class measurement, and helps for college students.
“The info within the ATA doc is inaccurate,” Horner stated in a press release.
“TEBA has been left with no alternative however to launch a authorized problem. The Alberta Labour Relations Board acquired our criticism at the moment, asking the ATA and its president Jason Schilling to instantly retract their false claims and to cease utilizing Alberta’s college students and households for leverage in a bargaining dispute.”
Schilling known as the province’s criticism frivolous.
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“The truth is that authorities negotiators have constantly said in bargaining that they lack the mandate, the cash and political authority to deal with each lecturers’ considerations about classroom studying situations and expectations for enough compensation,” he stated.
“To accuse lecturers of deceptive households is just not solely false, it’s a lie that’s deeply insulting to each single one among my colleagues throughout this province.”
The ATA’s Oct. 6 strike announcement final week got here after talks between the union and the federal government broke down over wages and dealing situations.
The authorities final provided a wage enhance of a minimum of 12 per cent over 4 years in addition to a promise to rent 3,000 lecturers over three years. It has additionally promised to speculate $8.6 billion over seven years to speed up new college builds.
Premier Danielle Smith has stated the ATA has to make a stark alternative between heftier pay hikes and extra lecturers.
Schilling stated the ATA offered a counteroffer final week however the authorities has not responded to it.
Schilling added Smith is presenting a false alternative and it’s doable for lecturers to have a superb wage and good working situations.
He stated lecturers have solely seen a 5.75-per-cent wage enhance during the last decade and the final authorities wage provide didn’t sustain with inflation.
“Teachers are in search of wage will increase that sustain with present inflation and replicate the rise in workload that they’ve, in addition to with the ability to have a wage that may entice and retain lecturers inside this province.”
He stated the union final met with the province final Friday and there have been no new conferences deliberate.
He stated the criticism the province introduced on Monday displays that it isn’t severe about reaching an settlement.
“The authorities type of indicated that they don’t wish to negotiate additional till the criticism has been resolved,” he stated.
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