Amidst an ongoing Alberta-wide teachers strike now in its fourth consecutive day, a labor relations specialist questions the reasoning behind the timing of the bargaining group’s lockout notice. The Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) informed the Alberta Teachers’ Association of an impending lockout scheduled for later in the week, which would limit the teachers’ strike tactics, including rotating job actions.
This move, according to Jason Foster, a labor relations expert from Athabasca University, would also enable school boards to potentially initiate layoffs for workers such as educational assistants and custodians who have been actively working since the strike commenced on Monday. Foster expressed confusion over TEBA’s delayed lockout notice, suggesting they could have synchronized it with the strike deadline for better alignment.
In response, Scott McCormack, the chair of the bargaining association, justified the lockout as a preventative measure to avoid the uncertainty caused by previous rotating strikes by educational assistants. The ongoing strike involving 51,000 Alberta teachers, the most extensive walkout in the province’s history, stems from grievances related to wages, overcrowded classrooms, and student needs amid a discord with Premier Danielle Smith’s government.
The government’s proposal, which was turned down by teachers in a vote, included a 12% wage increase over four years and the recruitment of 3,000 additional teachers. The strike impacts approximately 750,000 students across 2,500 schools, with Jason Schilling, the Alberta Teachers’ Association president, highlighting the adverse effects of chronic underfunding on classroom conditions.
Foster drew parallels between the current job action and the 2002 teacher strike, emphasizing the persistent nature of the core issues. He anticipates a prolonged resolution through negotiations, indicating that the government may resort to ordering teachers back to work, a move he views as potentially detrimental to the government’s public support if not addressing the root cause of the conflict.