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Local bargaining committees continue to negotiate as agreements are reached around Alberta.
As of October 1, 14 of 62 bargaining units have achieved memorandums of agreement with their school boards. Bargaining Unit General Meetings (BUGM) are being held to ratify these agreements.
All nine agreements reached since the beginning of the school year have costs exceeding the 0.5 per cent of the specific school board’s basic instructional grant available for collective agreement improvements, as set out in the Assurance for Students Act. The 0.5 per cent for improvements (contained in section D1 of the original framework agreement and referred to as “D1 costs”) is for the cost of improvements in 2014/15 and 2015/16 school years. School boards can spend more than the 0.5 per cent by agreeing to additional improvements or agreeing to implement them sooner than September 1, 2014.
Health benefits attained
Where school boards don’t pay 100 per cent of group benefit premiums, most memorandums include increases to those board contributions. As of September 1, 2014, teachers in Chinook’s Edge will see the board contribute 97.5 per cent of group benefit premiums, up from the current 95 per cent. As of September 1, 2015, Wolf Creek teachers will have 98 per cent of premiums paid by their employer. Bargaining units have also obtained increases to health spending account (HSA) amounts. In 2015, Lethbridge teachers’ HSAs will increase $200 per year to $700, and in Wetaskiwin, as of 2015, the HSA will increase from $350–$650.
Leaves of absence enhanced
An area where many improvements are being made is leaves of absence, particularly personal leave. Calgary Public and Edmonton Catholic bargaining units achieved increases to the number of paid personal days where those teachers originally had only personal leave at the cost of the substitute. These two agreements are the first large urban agreements to provide fully paid personal leave. Many of the agreements reached thus far have removed restrictions on the use of leave. For example, Conseil Scolaire Centre Nord 2 now allows personal leave to be attached to holiday periods (with the approval of the superintendent). The Wolf Creek agreement saw restrictions on use of personal leave removed, and teachers need only to provide notice that they’re taking leave.
Improved maternity leave and substitute pay
Other leave provisions are undergoing improvements as well. Several agreements have obtained increases to family medical leave and parental leave. In Lethbridge, teachers’ existing maternity leave benefit, which is currently with pay and employer contributions to benefit premiums for the medical-related portion, will, as of September 1, 2014, include paid benefit premiums for the entire 15-week leave. The Wetaskiwin agreement includes a new family needs leave to attend the medical needs of family members but isn’t restricted to medical needs alone. A new leave provision obtained by Edmonton Catholic provides two days of leave at full salary for teachers to take at the time of a family member’s deployment to, or return from, military service.
A new clause in the Calgary Public agreement defines a full-time online teacher, using a formula that accounts for the number of students, number of different courses and number of credits students are earning.
While increases to the salary grid are set by the Assurance for Students Act, some bargaining units and boards recognize that substitute pay is out of line with other rates; therefore, increases to substitute pay are being sought. Both Lethbridge Public and Calgary Public agreements increased substitute pay by 1 per cent as of September 1, 2014. ❚
