51,000 Teachers Launch Strike in Alberta

Photo Credit: The Alberta Teachers Association via World Socialist Web Site

On Oct. 6, over 51,000 Alberta teachers walked out on strike, disrupting education for around 750,000 students across 2,500 public, Catholic, and francophone schools. This marked the strike as the largest walkout in Alberta history. 

The strike resulted from an initiative to lower class sizes for teachers. The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), representing 51,000 teachers across Alberta, stated that classroom sizes have exceeded the recommendations by Alberta’s Commission of Learning. Since then, negotiations have been ongoing between committees, but no results have worked in favour of both sides. 

While many have been concerned over the fact that these negotiations are preventing students from learning, ATA president Jason Schilling shared that teachers do hope to return to the classroom

“However, they cannot do so without securing reasonable grounds for believing that their classroom conditions will be materially improved and that their continuing efforts will be respected and justly compensated,” Schilling shared, as per The Calgary Herald. 

The ATA shared that the most common class size in 2024 was 28 students for grades K-3, 20-25 for grades 4-6, 25-30 for grades 7-9, and over 30 students for grades 10-12, with some classes exceeding 40 students per teacher, higher than the class sizes recommended by Alberta’s Commission on Learning.

In a letter sent to the ATA on Oct. 17, the provincial government requested that teachers return to work. “I call on union leaders to make the right decision and get our kids back into the classroom where they belong,” Alberta’s Minister of Education, Demitrios Nicolaides, said. 

A new offer from the Teachers’ Employment Bargaining Association (TEBA) would have pledged an additional $2 billion on top of the $2.6 billion previously devoted. “After about three weeks, a strike of this nature would reach the threshold of causing irreparable harm to our students' education,” said Premier Danielle Smith. 

Smith explained that if strikes continue past Oct. 27, the ATA should “fully expect that there’ll be legislation” forcing teachers back to work. Schilling responded, saying the ATA will not back down and “will not be intimidated and ruled by threats that attempt to force us back to work and away from our principles.” 

Proposals have been made so far in the negotiation process, but nothing has suited the best interests of both sides. In August, the ATA’s Central Table Bargaining Committee (CTBC) proposed hiring 1,000 teachers per year for three years, with a total of 3,000 teachers by the 2027-28 school year. They are also demanding a unified salary grid to standardize pay across the province, along with retroactive pay to make up for the 2024-25 school year and a 1.5 per cent salary increase for veteran teachers at the top of the salary grid. 

In response to this, TEBA offered a 12 per cent salary increase over four years. Finance Minister Nate Horner explains that means Alberta teachers would “[receive] the highest pay in western Canada after taxes.” TEBA’s offer also pledged $750 million to hire 3,000 additional teachers over three years. 

Horner released a statement criticizing the ATA’s decision to reject their offers, stating that “The ATA’s rejected deal would have provided tremendous investments in classroom support… With two failed ratification votes, I am left questioning whether the union fully understands what their members are seeking.” 

As a result of the ongoing teachers' strike, the Alberta Ministry of Education and Childcare instituted the "Parent Payment Program,” where parents of children aged 12 and under who attend public, Catholic, or francophone schools in Alberta are eligible to receive $30 per day for labour action. Families with active Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) agreements receive an additional $30 per day for students aged 12 or under, and $60 for students aged 13 or over. 

These funds were redirected from unspent teacher wages during the strike and are intended to help cover the costs of childcare and meals during the school shutdown. Despite the positive responses received by Albertan parents, Schilling argued the payment program was evidence that the Alberta government “would rather pay parents to wait out a strike than pay teachers to prevent one.”
On Oct. 17, the province announced that the diploma exams happening in November will be optional for all Alberta students, with final grades based entirely on school coursework. These tests are important for grade 12s as these tests are worth 30 per cent of their final course mark, according to the Government of Alberta.