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Ups and downs
A teacher with four years of university education and more than 12 years of teaching experience took home the following salary as net pay:
- February 1984—$1,836.65 per month1
- February 1997—$1,854.17 per month
Since 1986, that same teacher has received salary increases totaling 22 per cent. During the same period, the Consumer Price Index for Alberta has risen 37.1 per cent. Using these two figures, the teacher has lost 15.1 per cent in purchasing power over the 11-year period.
In the Edmonton Journal (March 13, 1997), columnist Bill Sass reports the following:
- between 1983 and 1996, real wages in Canada dropped 26 per cent
- between 1983 and 1996, real wages in Alberta dropped 7.9 per cent2
- between 1986 and 1997, teachers' real salaries in Alberta dropped 15.1 per cent
Bills, bills, bills
Over a seven-year period, entertainment, utilities and communications charges have risen significantly.
| 1990–97 | Shaw Cable (no additional channels) | Up 54.0 per cent |
| 1990–97 | TransAlta Utilities (cost per kWh)
(basic monthly charge) | Up 13.1 per cent
Up 66.4 per cent |
| 1990–97 | Northwestern Utilities (fixed charges)
(regular monthly payment) | Up 43.6 per cent
Up 40.0 per cent |
| 1990–97 | AGT/Telus (different equipment basic rental) | Up 239.9 per cent3 |
It's not difficult to see who is doing the paying and who is making the profit in Alberta.
1 Calculated by an Edmonton Public School teacher from his own salary records.
2 Bill Sass, "Economy's `dirty little secret' is out," Edmonton Journal, March 13, 1997
3 ATA News, editor-in-chief's own bills
