Teachers fight for quality education

Alberta teachers would much rather be in their classrooms than out on strike, but the provincial government has left them with no choice, says the president of the Alberta Teachers Association.

"It has been ten years since teachers have been on strike in Alberta," says ATA president Larry Booi. "But when over ninety percent of teachers attending General Meetings are authorizing strike votes and when similar numbers are voting to go on strike there can be no doubt about how frustrated they are."

Teachers have been consistent in their position on contract negotiations since it was adopted last spring at the ATA’s Annual Representative Assembly. They are seeking to achieve three goals.

The first is to improve classroom conditions by taking steps that might include lowering class sizes, enhancing support for special needs students, enabling teachers to have access to necessary teaching resources. The second goal is to obtain fair and equitable salary increases in line with the increases won by other public sector employees. The third goal is to put into place measures to enhance the recruitment and retention of teachers; measures that could include restructuring of pay grids to benefit those entering the profession.

Booi stressed that each of the three goals is essential to achieving settlements. He indicated that the provincial Association has refused to sign off potential settlements that would have achieved salary increases while failing to provide adequately for improvements to classroom conditions.

Alberta teachers place the blame for the current crisis squarely on the provincial government and the Minister of Learning Lyle Oberg. Said Booi: "Local school boards are doing the best they can but they rely entirely upon the province as their sole provider of funds.

Despite this reality, the Minister refuses to acknowledge his responsibilities and become part of the solution. As a matter of fact, the Minister’s continued under-funding of education coupled with political mismanagement and an aggressive and insulting public relations campaign have brought long standing issues to a head and driven teachers to take determined action."

Booi was particularly scornful of the government’s media messaging: "The government boasts about the great investments it has made in public education ignoring the fact that when inflation and enrolment increases are factored in, it is actually spending less on public education than it did a decade ago.

The government continues to contend that Alberta teachers are the best paid in Canada despite clear evidence to the contrary.

The government argues that there is no shortage of teachers even when Superintendents are telling them otherwise and when thousands of teachers are leaving the profession before being eligible to collect a pension."

Booi summarized the government’s position as "evasion wrapped in denial."

According to Booi, settlements could be reached if the province would chip in a dollar, per student per school day.

"Public education in Alberta is still a great deal for taxpayers and citizens. We achieve excellent results that lead the world, and we do so at a cost significantly below the Canadian average."