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Dennis Theobald
While the approval by the Emergent Representative Assembly (ERA) of the framework agreement between the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the government of Alberta on November 24 may have seemed like the end of a long process for many delegates, it marked the beginning of a critical 42-day push to conclude collective agreements in all bargaining units before the end of January 2008.
Speaking to ERA delegates immediately after the agreement was overwhelmingly approved, Ernest Clintberg, ATA coordinator of Teacher Welfare, summarized the challenge facing teachers across the province: every bargaining unit in the province must now conclude a new five-year collective agreement that aligns with the provisions of the framework agreement between the Association and the provincial government. Under the terms of that agreement, the deadline for completing this task in each of 62 jurisdictions/bargaining units is January 31, 2008. The failure by even one jurisdiction or bargaining unit to meet the deadline would jeopardize the agreement.
Although the framework agreement itself settles many items that would otherwise be in dispute (increases in salary and allowances, and the continuation of hours of instruction and assignable time clauses where they currently exist), implementing the terms of the agreement in collective agreements is not a simple exercise. "The devil is always in the details," Clintberg said. "While the agreement between the government and the ATA is fairly straightforward, integrating the terms of that agreement with the specific language contained in individual collective agreements can be tricky."
Clintberg pointed out that the manner in which various components of the provincial agreement are handled has implications for teachers who are on disability leave or collecting unemployment benefits. "With this level of complexity and the stakes being so high, it would be unfair to abandon local bargainers to their own devices. That’s why I will be appointing Representatives of the Bargaining Agent (RBA) to bargaining units as required," Clintberg said. RBAs are usually Association staff officers drawn from the Teacher Welfare program area; however, in response to the unprecedented scale of the task facing the ATA, staff officers who are working in other program areas or who have retired have been mobilized to provide additional support.
As well as the inherent complexity of merging the provincial agreement with local collective agreements, bargaining units also face the challenge of putting into place agreements that will stand the test of time. "What you have on January 31 will be what you have until September 1, 2012," said Clintberg. While it is unrealistic to assume that locals or their employers will suddenly reach agreement on issues that have been unresolved or unaddressed previously, it is expected that some pressing issues will appear on bargaining tables across the province.
For example, compensation for substitute teachers is an issue that many bargaining units would like to address. Substitute teachers will not benefit from the April 30, 2008, lump sum payment of $1,500 and, because pension payments are not deducted from their salaries, substitutes will see little immediate financial benefit from the government’s takeover of the pension liability. At the same time, maintaining a pool of qualified substitute teachers is becoming increasingly difficult in some jurisdictions. Accordingly, bargaining units and school boards may wish to improve the lot of substitute teachers by offering incentives that are compatible with the salary and allowance caps set out in the provincial agreement. Moving substitutes onto the pay grid earlier, paying for substitutes to attend local professional development days and compensating substitutes for travel expenses are some of the ideas put forth as ways to make substitute teaching more attractive.
Achieving collective agreements before the end of January depends to a large degree on the cooperation of school boards. Although school boards did not participate in the negotiations that resulted in the framework agreement, ATA negotiators were determined to ensure that the boards would not have to bear any additional financial burden as a result of the agreement. That is why the Association insisted that the cost of the framework agreement to school boards be fully funded by the government. "The Association and the province took care to take care of school boards," Clintberg said. "We hope that the resulting assurance that boards will be adequately and predictably funded for the next five years will provide them with an incentive to make this deal happen."
Clintberg noted that the province has undertaken in the text of the agreement to use its "best efforts" to convince school boards to accept new/revised collective agreements consistent with the terms and conditions set out in the framework agreement. Similarly, the Association has an obligation to move each of its bargaining units towards a local collective agreement that aligns with the provincial agreement.
Clintberg is confident that this can be done by the deadline, but it will require that local bargaining units work cooperatively with their RBAs and provincial Association. "This is a huge task. It really is unprecedented, and we have 42 working days to get this done. But if we all pull together in the same direction, it is doable," said Clintberg.
The upshot is that teachers will be asked to participate in two votes conducted by their bargaining unit. The first vote will be ratification by ATA members of the agreement between the Association and the government of Alberta. This vote will be conducted by secret ballot, typically at a general meeting of the members of the bargaining unit, with the ballots sealed and transported to Barnett House. Once ballots have been received from all bargaining units, they will be counted and the results reported. Ratification requires 50 per cent plus one of all votes cast across the province. The second vote, which may or may not take place at the same time as the first, will be to approve a memorandum of agreement between the bargaining unit and the employing school board. This vote will take place according to the processes set out by the RBA and/or the bargaining unit’s approved framework, again typically at a general meeting of the members of the bargaining unit. Teachers will be advised by their locals of the time and place of these votes.
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