Alberta teacher salaries should be rolled back: Canadian Taxpayers Federation

CALGARY – The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is urging the Alberta government to roll back the wages of teachers throughout the province amid a potential $6.3-billion provincial deficit.

“As the Alberta government inches closer to negotiations with the teachers union, they should be seeking a wage rollback,” CTF Alberta director Paige MacPherson said in a Thursday news release.

“Alberta has a very bloated government sector compensation when you compare other provinces and the national average–and teachers are no exception from that–when we are facing a $10.4-billion operational deficit, not including infrastructure spending, we need to roll back spending. Compensation needs to be a part of that, and teachers cannot be immune from that conversation.”

But the Alberta Teachers’ Association said its members are aware of the state of the economy and the situation the government is in. Spokesperson Jonathan Teghtmeyer said the bargaining process has just started and the group’s first step will be gathering information from those involved.

He suggested teachers aren’t the only workers in the province who make more money than other Canadians.

“Every Albertan employee class is the highest paid amongst their colleagues and counterparts across the country,” Teghtmeyer said.

“If you’re talking about management, you’re looking at 29 per cent more. If you’re talking about people in the goods industry, they’re making 35 per cent more than the national average. This is not out of place for the Alberta marketplace.”

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He also pointed out teachers took a cut in earnings in the last legislative settlement, when there was “three years without a pay freeze at the same time as inflation was five per cent.” He said that cut in earnings occurred at a time when oil was $100 a barrel.

“What we have in Alberta is a situation where the labour marketplace and the costs of goods and services is the highest here as it is anywhere else in the country, so when we get to the table we need to talk about all of these realities.”

On Wednesday, Alberta Education Minister David Eggen told a news conference the government remains committed to continuing to fund education.

“We’ve made a point to make sure that we are funding education throughout economic good times, mediocre times and challenging times,” Eggen said.

With files from Global’s Jill Croteau and Erika Tucker