Arbitrator settles on 5.99

Joint statement from the Minister of Education and the President of the Alberta Teachers’ Association

Release Date: February 3, 2010

Edmonton ... Education Minister Dave Hancock and Alberta Teachers’ Association President Carol Henderson are pleased that a decision regarding the use and application of Alberta Average Weekly Earnings for teacher salary purposes has been reached. An arbitrator ruled that teachers working in the province’s public, separate and francophone schools should receive an increase amounting to 5.99 per cent, reflecting the average increase in the weekly earnings of Albertans from 2008 to 2009.

Both Hancock and Henderson view their joint decision to refer the salary issue to provincial arbitration as a reflection of the cooperative, productive relationship shared by the government and teachers.

The arbitration decision handed down February 2 by Andrew C L Sims, QC clarifies how a formula linking teacher salary increases with annual changes in Alberta Average Weekly Earnings will be applied in the 2009/10 school year.

The formula is embedded in the Memorandum of Agreement between the Province of Alberta and the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the resulting five-year collective agreements that came into effect in the 2007/08 school year in all 62 public, separate and francophone school districts across the province.

Questions concerning the interpretation of the agreement emerged earlier this year when Statistics Canada introduced changes in the way the average weekly earnings are calculated.

After studying the issue and considering alternative approaches to its resolution, the Government of Alberta and the Alberta Teachers’ Association agreed to refer this matter to arbitration under Clause 9.1 of the original Memorandum of Agreement. The parties further agreed to name Sims, an authority in the field of labour law, to act as the arbitrator and then worked together to expedite the arbitration process.

Both the government and the ATA look forward to continued collaboration to improve education in Alberta.

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