Commonwealth—About 750,000 Alberta students were missing a third consecutive week of school as the teachers’ strike in the province intensified, stoking growing tensions between the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and the Alberta government. The walkout, which began on Oct. 6 when 51,000 teachers took to the picket lines, has closed about 2,500 provincial schools.
Labor experts are advising that the government’s legislative back-to-work strategy for getting teachers back to work will just go on worsening relations between the province and teachers. Athabasca University labor relations Prof. Jason Foster said the government’s threat of back-to-work legislation would drive short-term political issues backward but, in doing so, would further aggravate underlying long-term issues with Alberta’s education system. Foster felt that such a strategy would disrespect and disregard the teachers, because it would fail to address their actual concerns of salary, classroom conditions, and working for the students. Premier Danielle Smith said her government would consider forcing the teachers back to work in the event that the strike is still active by October 27, when the legislature returns to session.
The premier is also worried about the long-term damage to students, citing that the extended strike would have long-term negative effects on learning and well-being. Union leaders and education lobbies have criticized this stance, arguing that the government should use negotiations instead of force. The teachers’ union and the government are at a standoff over some of the biggest issues, such as pay increases, class size, and funding for children with special learning needs.
The government’s current offer is a 12 percent pay increase over four years and an agreement to introduce 3,000 new teachers. But the ATA rejected the offer, saying it fails to address demands for controlling workloads and inflationary pressures that have eaten into teachers’ salaries. The union has been accused by the government of having unrealistic expectations, and the ATA offer would require an additional $2 billion atop the $2.6 billion already promised to education over the four years. The strike has impacted families, business owners, and students across the province.
Parents who work have been forced to find alternative childcare or cut back their work hours, and school breakfast clubs for vulnerable children have been cancelled. Secondary school students who plan to apply to university have also faced increased stress, worrying about missed classes and delayed evaluation. The province’s attempt to provide online course material to students throughout the strike has been met with pointed criticism, with the content being called fragmented and confusing by both parents and teachers. Foster likened the circumstances to those of the 2002 province-wide teachers’ strike, when teachers were also legislated back to work by the government.
Premier Ralph Klein’s government at the time commissioned a study of Alberta’s education system and recommended reforms. However, the commission never implemented most of its recommendations, including directives to reduce class sizes. The same issues are still at the core of the dispute more than two decades later. Prime Minister Smith said her government would establish a new education commission after the strike to look at systemic problems and provide long-term recommendations. Critics question, though, if that would lead to change after the government itself had failed to act on similar reports in the past.
ATA reiterated its commitment to good-faith bargaining and invited the government back to the table with a fair and reasonable offer.
It was made abundantly clear by the union that the strike is all about quality education for kids and sustainable teaching conditions for teachers and not merely securing wage increases. Meanwhile, the office of Finance Minister Nate Horner urged the union to come forward with a more realistic proposal. His office said the province is willing to consider a fair and balanced agreement. As a third week of the strike begins, uncertainty remains a defining characteristic of Alberta’s educational system. The government is still under immense pressure to resolve the standoff short of demoralizing teachers since educators continue to maintain that constructive reform—not legislation—is the only way left to bring stability back to Alberta schools.
