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First 12 cases produce three agreements and nine awards from arbitrator
Twelve bargaining units have now met with the case management arbitrator, David Jones. One of those bargaining units is waiting for Jones to issue binding terms of settlement, while eight have had settlements awarded. Three bargaining units achieved memoranda of agreement during the case management process.
The memoranda achieved by St. Paul, High Prairie and Holy Family were reported in the February 11, 2014, ATA News. The St. Paul memorandum has been ratified by both parties, while the High Prairie and Holy Family memoranda remain to be ratified.
Also reported in the February 11 News were the binding awards issued for Peace Wapiti, Golden Hills, Medicine Hat Catholic and Buffalo Trail. Since then, awards have been issued for Prairie Rose, Palliser, East Central Alberta Catholic and Rocky View, but an award for Red Deer Catholic is yet to come.
The more recent case management meetings have been much more difficult than earlier meetings. Bargaining units and employers have been coming to case management with almost all issues in dispute. The goal for these bargaining units is to achieve increases to entitlements consistent with other teachers while staving off threats to entitlements and compensation that their teachers currently enjoy. Many of these employers are seeking significant rollbacks to leaves and benefit provisions and are interested only in paying out the 0.5 per cent of base instructional grant as a lump sum or in an improvement that ends August 31, 2016. So far, bargaining units have been successful in improving personal leaves, employer payment of benefit premiums and health spending accounts (HSAs) that spend the 0.5 per cent earmarked for local bargaining improvements. None of the awards has included an August 31, 2016, end to improvements, and there have been no lump sums awarded.
Prairie Rose teachers received an award that includes an increase in paid maternity leave from 95 per cent to 100 per cent of salary, an increase in board payment of benefit premiums from 98 per cent to 100 per cent and an increase to their HSA. Effective September 1, 2015, the award also provides for a 1 per cent increase in allowances for principals and coordinators of student services and technology, a 1 per cent increase in pay for substitute teachers and a 1 per cent increase in the allowance paid to teachers supervising summer work experience.
For Palliser teachers, the award includes an increase to their HSA as well as one day of paid personal leave that can be carried over to the next school year and can accumulate to two days.
East Central Alberta Catholic teachers received a second day of paid personal leave; a $13 increase to the daily substitute rate effective September 1, 2015; and an increase to their HSA, also effective September 1, 2015. The award also allows the board to grant teachers leave for Association business.
The remaining eight cases will be heard between now and March 17. If the parties cannot reach a memorandum of agreement or agree to ask the case management arbitrator to issue a binding award, they may submit their issues to a formal binding arbitration panel.
For more information on these settlements or on your bargaining unit’s progress at case management, please contact your local’s Economic Policy Committee. ❚
