Question: What happens when teachers’ collective agreements end in 2012? When will bargaining begin and what are the prospects for extending labour peace?
Answer: In June, Minister of Education Dave Hancock approached the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) and invited both organizations to work with him to develop a process to extend labour peace and to ensure workforce stability beyond 2012. Provincial Executive Council considered this invitation at a special meeting in August and agreed to participate. I’m currently working with my ASBA counterpart, David Anderson, and Education Deputy Minister Keray Henke, to develop a process that could ensure labour peace and workforce stability past August 2012.
The education minister has proposed that the parties work on a framework that will allow the parties to implement elements of the system transformation outlined in
Inspiring Education and other government initiatives. The government’s
win through this process would be extended labour peace and cost certainty, and the ASBA and the Association have been invited to identify what
wins they could achieve through the process. Simply put, the goal is to extend labour peace and work collaboratively to transform education.
The various elements of transformation would be included in a provincial framework that would serve as the basis for workforce stability. For example, one of the minister’s initiatives, Setting the Direction, focuses on changes to special education. How the system proceeds with respect to special education could be an element of the framework. The minister has also talked about “wraparound services,” which could also be a part of the framework. The government, ASBA and ATA would have input into the contents of the provincial framework, which would have two goals: the transformation of the system as outlined in various ministerial initiatives and workforce stability. ATA input will focus on what needs to transform and ensured workforce stability, including conditions of practice.
I anticipate a busy autumn. Provincial Executive Council will consider the proposed process and, assuming there is agreement, there will be extensive meetings to discuss the road map of transformation this fall. The discussions will be wide ranging and significant; I expect school boards will want to discuss, among other things, local governance and the certainty of funding. We’ll want to discuss conditions of practice, including classroom conditions and improvements to practice, and the self-governance of the teaching profession. Once a framework on transformation and workforce stability is completed, school boards and the Association would proceed with a round of collective bargaining to achieve new/revised collective agreements for an agreed period of time past 2012. This round of bargaining would look much like a normal round—it would not be a 45-day process, like it was in 2007/08. There would be sufficient time to develop an asking package, to bargain, to resolve issues at a local level and to conclude agreements.
This is a bold initiative from Minister Hancock and it has enormous potential for education in Alberta and for the profession as we work together on making key changes to the system while ensuring the elements necessary for workforce stability. The product—orderly, informed transformation of education and an extended period of labour peace—would be good news for the government, school boards, the profession and the students we serve.
Questions for consideration in this column are welcome. Please address them to Gordon Thomas at Barnett House (gordon.thomas@ata.ab.ca).
