Wages, class sizes top of mind in Alberta teachers negotiations

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The union representing Alberta teachers is currently in ongoing negotiations with the province since the collective bargaining agreement ended on Aug. 31.

Issues with teacher retention and current working conditions are at the forefront of negotiations. The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) said wage increases, smaller class sizes, and more classroom supports are currently top of mind.

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ATA president Jason Schilling said in an interview with Postmedia Wednesday that teacher workloads need to be more manageable to prevent burnout. Over the past few years, more tasks have been added to an already long list that has made it difficult to reasonably maintain, including developing and implementing new curriculums and assessments.

“Our teachers who are working in kindergarten to Grade 6 have been dealing with new language arts, math, science, physical education, financial literacy and now are piloting social studies all within the last three years,” Schilling said.

“When you’re dealing with a new curriculum or any curriculum, you need time to prepare lessons.”

Schilling said preparing lessons or labs not only means getting the information ready but a lot of the work happens outside of school hours where teachers are catching up. During school days teachers are more focused on delivering lessons and, with large class sizes, need those extra minutes to work with students who may be struggling or need extra help.

Complexity in needs and wages need to keep up with inflation

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While he said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of negotiations such as wage increase percentages or class size caps, stating the union was respecting the bargaining process and ensuring it is being done in good faith. Schilling said wages need to keep up with inflation so teachers stay in the profession.

Some members of the ATA said while large classes are an issue, an even greater issue is the growing complexity of the needs of students in the classroom. Schilling said students who are refugees or in English as a second language courses may have reading or learning deficiencies that need to be addressed in classrooms but aren’t always.

“We’ve seen more and more needs for mental health support within our school since the pandemic,” Schilling said. 

“My colleagues in our surveys are talking about the social-emotional impacts of students coming in. It’s taking up a lot of their time and they’re not necessarily able to teach as well as they’d like to because they’re busy managing all these other aspects of the complexities of their classrooms.”

The central table bargaining process is currently in play right now and once that is done local bargaining will begin.

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Justin Brattinga, senior press secretary to the Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, said in a statement to Postmedia Thursday they were unable to comment while bargaining is ongoing, and could not get into the negotiation details.

“We can say that Albertans rely on government to balance our ability to invest in programs and services with fair and competitive compensation for teachers,” Brattinga said.

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