With a provincewide teachers strike looming, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says their union has a stark choice between heftier pay hikes and more teachers.
Smith suggested they can have one or the other, but they can’t have both.
“We know that with the tight budget that we have, any additional dollars for salaries end up taking away from our ability to hire more teachers,” she said Thursday at an unrelated announcement in Edmonton.
Smith made the comments when asked about stalled contract talks between her government and the Alberta Teachers’ Association, the day after the union set a strike date of Oct. 6.
Her United Conservative Party government is poised to run a $6.5 billion deficit this budget year.
It has offered wage hikes starting at 12 per cent over four years, with a promise to hire 3,000 teachers over three years. Smith said that’s a fair wage increase, and in line with other public sector deals.
“The union asked us to pledge to hire 1,000 new teachers a year for the next three years. We did, and they broke off talks,” said Smith.
ATA president Jason Schilling said in an interview later Thursday that members want their concerns about classroom conditions and salary addressed and said Smith’s comments present a false choice.
“I think teachers shouldn’t have to choose one over the other. The system deserves to have both. Our kids deserve to have both,” he said.
Schilling said that with a growing population, the province probably needs about 5,000 new teachers, but said the 1,000 per year minimum is a start.
“It’s a choice by the government in terms of where they want to spend their money, with Alberta being the least funded in all of Canada in terms of expenditures for students. That’s a choice,” he said.
Schilling said previous provincial governments have likewise pointed to a tight fiscal situation to push teachers to accept zero in pay increases — with the promise of addressing classroom conditions.
“That never happened, and teachers aren’t willing to buy that.”
He noted that when members voted in favour of strike action months ago, they knew they would not be receiving strike pay, and that shows their resolve.
“They want to see public education better in the province, and they’re willing to put their paycheques on the line to do that.”
Smith pointed to spending commitments outside of the teachers’ agreement, noting $1.1 billion is being dedicated to hiring, including more education assistants, to address classroom complexity. That cash is to be spread out over three years.
“I hope we can come to an agreement because it would be very, very disruptive to kids, their education and their families if the teachers walk out on Oct. 6,” said Smith.
She also pointed to the $8.6 billion promised over seven years to accelerate new school builds.
Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi told reporters in Calgary Smith is deflecting from her own poor spending choices.
“You [Smith] chose to spend the least amount per student in Canada on education. You have given up the right to say ‘There is no money’,” he said.
He pointed to the tens of millions of dollars spent on children’s pain medication that was never recouped, along with the costs of restructuring the health-care system.
“Danielle Smith is very bad with money and it shouldn’t be teachers, parents and students who pay the price for the fact that she doesn’t know how to budget.”
