ASBA responds to government declaring emergency to bring striking teachers back to work
Release date: February 21, 2002
Michele Mulder, President of the Alberta School Boards Association, made the
following statements about the government’s announcement today that it
has declared an emergency to order striking teachers back to work.
“School boards are pleased to have students back in class – they
are our primary concern,” said Mulder. “That said, as locally-elected
governors, employers, and stewards of taxpayers’ dollars, school boards
are concerned about the long term impact of this external intervention. By declaring
an emergency to order striking teachers back, the government has triggered a
process that may culminate in a third party making the final decision and imposing
a settlement on school boards and teachers. With that decision out of our hands,
we fear imposed wage settlements we can’t afford or sustain and costly
and inflexible working conditions being built into contracts,” said Mulder.
“Unaffordable, unsustainable and inflexible contracts with our employees
will hurt students in the long run.”
Mulder welcomed news the government would give school boards three weeks to
continue negotiating before bringing in arbitrators. “This extra time gives
school boards and their teachers the opportunity to see if they can achieve
a local deal,” said Mulder.
She reiterated the ASBA’s commitment to local bargaining, including the
right to strike and lock-out, as the route to achieve settlements that meet
the needs of students, teachers, taxpayers and the communities that elect school
boards. “We hope this is a one-time only intervention, imposed under unprecedented
circumstances, which will not hamper the local bargaining process in the future,”
said Mulder.
Given the unprecedented external intervention in the 2001/2002 negotiations
– the provincial government earmarked dollars for teacher compensation
and the provincial ATA set out criteria for local agreements – and the
disruption in student learning, Mulder called for a return to an environment
where true local bargaining can be successful. “School boards must have
the flexibility, including a return to a measure of local taxation, and autonomy
to negotiate locally and teachers must be able to enter local discussions unfettered
by criteria imposed by the provincial ATA.”
For more information contact: Michele Mulder, ASBA President at 1.780.679.5627 (cell).
The Alberta School Boards Association serves and represents all Alberta’s public, separate and francophone school boards.
