CALGARY – The union that represents 36,000 Alberta teachers is urging Premier Alison Redford to accept an offer from the union that would see teachers take a wage freeze this year and the next, but also see their workload cut.
The province, the Alberta Teachers’ Association, and the Alberta School Boards Association, have been in tripartite negotiations to hammer out a new collective agreement.
In their announcement, the teachers said they will accept a wage freeze in 2012-2013 and the next year, a one per cent increase in 2014-2015, and three per cent in 2015-2016.
The main sticking point during bargaining has been teacher workload. The union has sought a cap on hours, while Education Minister Jeff Johnson has been opposed to such a measure.
In a statement, the ATA said it wants to see teacher workload on “bureaucratic non-instructional tasks” to be reduced.
A backgrounder says one condition is that “progress is made toward the established norms of 907 hours of instruction and 1,200 hours of assigned time in each school year, but providing for increased time when required.”
“I am prepared to recommend this proposal to teachers,” ATA president Carol Henderson said in a statement. “We are urging the premier to accept this offer and to recommend it to school boards.”
Education Minister Jeff Johnson will speak to media about recent developments in tripartite talks between government, the Alberta School Boards Association and the Alberta Teachers’ Association later Friday morning.
Alberta Teachers’ Association Offer
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