Alberta teachers have firmly rejected the province’s latest contract offer, setting the stage for a potential provincewide strike next week on Oct. 6.
Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling said close to 90 per cent of its members who voted over the weekend were against the deal on the table.
Nearly 42,600 educators cast their votes over the weekend, with 38,113 — 89.5 percent — rejecting the offer and 4,479 — 10.5 per cent — voting to accept it.
“The proposed agreement failed to meet the needs of teachers, failed to improve student classroom conditions in a concrete and meaningful way, and failed to show teachers the respect they deserve,” Schilling said in a statement.
The rejected offer included a 12-per-cent pay raise over four years and a government promise to hire 3,000 more teachers to address class sizes.
“The overwhelming rejection of the tentative agreement highlights the gap between teachers’ lived realities in the classroom and the government’s perception of public education in Alberta,” the ATA said in a news release Monday night.
Teachers also would’ve had the cost of their COVID-19 vaccines covered by the government as part of the contract.
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The government has said the contract would’ve been good for Alberta’s education system, saying it was strong on classroom investment.
Schilling says the vote makes it clear that teachers found the offer unacceptable.
The Opposition NDP said it stands by teachers, families and students.
“It is disappointing the UCP government has let it get to this point and now thousands of Alberta teachers will hit the picket lines, while parents are scrambling to make arrangements, and our kids’ learning is put on hold,” said Amanda Chapman, the NDP shadow minister of education.
As of publishing, the province had not reacted to the vote results.
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