Labour News

Calgary Catholic teachers approve strike action

In a provincially supervised strike vote carried out in schools on May 28, Calgary's Catholic teachers agreed to resort to strike action, if necessary.

This is the latest development concerning the failure of the Calgary Separate trustees to reach a collective agreement with their teachers for the 2000/2001 school year.

Mike O'Brien, president of the Calgary Catholic local of the Alberta Teachers' Association, said his teachers now have the authority to withdraw professional services. "We have been bargaining for approximately a year to reach a fair settlement with the trustees," O'Brien said. "The last trustee offer was in February and their offer was completely inadequate." According to O'Brien, the February offer would have seen salary and benefits for Calgary Catholic teachers ranked 56th out of 57 provincial school jurisdictions.

Calgary Separate is one of only four school jurisdictions that does not have a collective agreement in place for the current school year.

O'Brien stressed that parents and students need not worry about a work stoppage before the end of this school term. He said the objective of the teachers' bargaining committee is to reach a settlement without having to resort to strike action.

"I wish to emphasize the commitment of Calgary Catholic teachers to finishing this school year, even though we will likely do so without a current collective agreement," O'Brien said, "but I also wish to emphasize that the patience of teachers toward Calgary Separate trustees is rapidly running out."