Good faith agreement shows shared commitment to students
Release date: April 19, 2002
Edmonton…Extracurricular activities for students can go ahead as planned thanks to an agreement reached by government, the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA). The agreement, which will make for a smoother arbitration process, will also see teachers return to marking diploma examinations.
“Teachers, school boards and government all want to do what’s best
for students,” said Minister of Learning, Dr. Lyle Oberg. “We want
to resolve the current dispute, regain our spirit of collaboration and get back
to building one of the best education systems in the world. This is absolutely
vital and the parties are willing to work together to make it happen. After
two weeks of intense negotiations, we have reached an agreement that is a clear
show of good faith and will allow us to move forward together in the interests
of students.”
Other highlights of the agreement include:
- The government has agreed to pay the teachers’ unfunded pension liability for a one-year period. Teachers will see the benefit on their pay cheques sometime in the next school year. Although the government is not putting its original offer to cover the liability in perpetuity back on the table, it has agreed to consult with the ATA and establish a process for addressing the long-term issues of the unfunded liability.
- The parties have agreed to the approaches that may be taken to working condition issues and on the financial capacity of school boards.
- No further legal or legislative action.
- ATA will not initiate a legal challenge of the Education Services Settlement Act.
- Government will not introduce further legislation related to classroom conditions, pending recommendation from the Commission who will conduct the review of the learning system.
- Government has confirmed that no legislative changes related to the ATA structure are being contemplated and would only be done with prior consultation with the ATA.
- Both the ATA and the ASBA will be consulted on the scope of the upcoming review of Alberta’s education system.
“Teachers are pleased that some of their important concerns are in this agreement,” said ATA President, Larry Booi. “We hope that we have all turned the corner and that this agreement will initiate even more cooperation in improving teaching and learning in Alberta.”
“This is a win for students. Mr. Booi and Minister Oberg have poured
the foundation for a bridge over this impasse – I commend and thank them.
School boards will be there beside the minister and Mr. Booi constructing the
girders and trestles to complete this bridge, because of our shared commitment
to Alberta’s public education system and the students we serve. The ASBA
Board of Directors will recommend this agreement to the province’s boards,”
said ASBA President Michele Mulder.
As outlined in the Education Services Settlement Act (Bill 12), a three-person
arbitration tribunal has been appointed to review the labour disputes and issue
binding awards on a case-by-case basis in school districts across the province
that have not concluded collective agreements. Fifty-three out of 62 collective
agreements expired on August 31, 2001. Five settlements were reached before
the Education Services Settlement Act was introduced on March 11, 2002. Since
then, a further 10 settlements have been concluded. The arbitration tribunal
will determine the process to be followed and is to complete its work for the
38 agreements still outstanding by August 31, 2002.
For more information contact:
Alberta School Boards Association
Suzanne Lundrigan
Communications
1.780.451.7122
Alberta Teachers’ Association
Donna Swiniarski
Communications
1.780.447.9467
Alberta Learning
Mark Cooper
Communications
1.780.427.0965
The Alberta School Boards Association serves and represents all Alberta’s public, separate and francophone school boards.
