Details were leaked this week from the talks between the Alberta Teachers' Association and the Alberta government.
Alberta teachers are currently the highest paid outside of the north, with salaries up to $20,000 higher than BC teachers. Their previous agreement provided for automatic increases relative to the growth of average weekly earning in the province, as well as a $2.2 billion contribution to the pension fund.The government is projecting a deficit in 2012, but even in this context, the government is looking at wage increases of 0%, 2%, and 4% over three years.
For the teachers, the issues are workload and working hours. Teachers report working double their instructional time when marking, preparing, communicating with parents, and mandatory professional development are included. This puts their hours upwards of 50 per week - very similar to the workload that BC teachers report.
The new premier, Alison Redford, showed her commitment to public education when she reinstated $107 million in budget cuts almost immediately after assuming office. This level of commitment to funding bodes well for reaching a negotiated settlement.
Alberta teachers are currently the highest paid outside of the north, with salaries up to $20,000 higher than BC teachers. Their previous agreement provided for automatic increases relative to the growth of average weekly earning in the province, as well as a $2.2 billion contribution to the pension fund.The government is projecting a deficit in 2012, but even in this context, the government is looking at wage increases of 0%, 2%, and 4% over three years.
For the teachers, the issues are workload and working hours. Teachers report working double their instructional time when marking, preparing, communicating with parents, and mandatory professional development are included. This puts their hours upwards of 50 per week - very similar to the workload that BC teachers report.
The new premier, Alison Redford, showed her commitment to public education when she reinstated $107 million in budget cuts almost immediately after assuming office. This level of commitment to funding bodes well for reaching a negotiated settlement.
Wow ... I never thought I would see the day where I would envy anything about Alberta. I admit that I don't know much about her, but I guess Redford actually puts a dose of "progressive" into her progressive conservative lable. I wish our so called BC "Liberals" would take note and follow suit!
ReplyDeleteI don't get the "...reinstated $107 million in budget cuts...". Does this mean that she took the $107 million out of the already existing education budget? That does not sound good.
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