Page Content
Teachers are curious about proposed framework agreement
Ever since Provincial Executive Council (PEC) voted to recommend to members that they accept the proposed framework agreement, I’ve been asked many times the following questions: Why this agreement? Why is this agreement better than the ones we turned down? What happened to local bargaining?
In a nutshell, here’s what happened. Local bargaining ceased to be a viable alternative in many bargaining units the moment Education Minister Jeff Johnson advised school boards that he wanted to see all local agreements before they could be ratified. While local bargaining was under way and progress was made on some low-cost or no-cost items, the education minister sent an e-mail to school boards, which halted the process. Consequently, school boards decided they could not negotiate agreements in such an uncertain climate. Added to this was the fact that the province had yet to bring down its annual budget, which would contain information about education funding.
With the local bargaining process hamstrung by the education minister, Premier Alison Redford stepped in and contacted ATA President Carol Henderson to see if the ATA would try one more time to reach an agreement—we had to agree to look at what the government had to offer.
The premier’s offer presented to PEC is significantly better than the one the education minister offered in February. One of the most significant improvements, aside from the premier’s comfort letter, is contained in Part C of the agreement: Teacher Workload. Several new clauses are of significant interest for teachers. (The proposed framework agreement is posted to the ATA’s website: www.teachers.ab.ca.)
One feature of the agreement is the creation of the Internal School Jurisdiction Review (ISJR). The ISJR committee will include representatives from the school jurisdiction, teachers named by the Association bargaining unit and a facilitator provided by Alberta Education. Each jurisdiction ISJR committee will design, direct and conduct internal reviews to determine what jurisdictional tasks or policies can be eliminated, changed or reduced to improve teachers’ conditions of practice. Each committee will be in place for at least the duration of the agreement.
ISJR committees will complete their reports by October 31, 2013. Reports must include an action plan and recommendations for items that require further study. In other words, the school board can’t use the committee as a delaying tactic to avoid making changes. Furthermore, if teachers believe the issues and/or recommendations in the report have not been addressed, they can appeal to the school’s principal. If they still feel that their concerns aren’t being addressed, they can appeal to the superintendent and, if all else fails, they have the right to refer the matter to the Exceptions Committee. Similarly, a principal or group of principals will now have an avenue to appeal their conditions of practice, an avenue that was not open to them prior to this agreement.
Although PEC voted to recommend this agreement to teachers, the final say rests with you, the members. Please attend the Bargaining Unit General Meeting in your area. Listen carefully, ask questions, then make an informed decision.
