Kids in and around the Drumheller Valley have or are preparing to head back to class for the 2025-2026 school year. The question is for how long.
Earlier this spring, the Province of Alberta and the Alberta Teachers’ Association were working through a mediator in bargaining for a new contract for area teachers. A contract was presented to teachers and was voted down. Teachers also voted on a strike vote back in June, which was passed but the teachers have continued to negotiate. On August 27th, the Province of Alberta presented a new contract and as of August 28th the Alberta Teachers’ Associated have left the table.
The Province of Alberta held a press conference on Friday, August 29th. They shared that the Alberta Teachers’ Association has walked away from the bargaining table after they had offered to increase the number of teachers by 3,000 over the next three years. The Province has also offered a raise of 12 percent over the next four years. With the announcement on Thursday by Finance Minister Nate Horner that the deficit for the Province of Alberta is increasing due to the lower price of oil over the first quarter, it makes the bottom line tighter than anticipated.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association also held a press conference on Friday and have reiterated that students in our province are funded at a lower level than in every other province in the country. They also shared that there are more students per teacher in Alberta, compared to those in other provinces in Calgary. Teachers have also shared that their wages have not kept pace with inflation and would want their wages to keep pace with current inflation.
ATA President Jason Schilling shared that although the union members have voted for a possible action back in June, the ATA has the opportunity to institute a 72-hour strike notice but the negotiating team has not put that in place as of Friday.
The hope is negotiations will continue but it is not entirely sure if and when negotiations will start once again.
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