Teachers reject agreement, strike set for October 6

The Alberta Teachers’ Association says a teacher’s strike will start Oct. 6.

The union says 89.5 per cent of its members have voted to reject a contract agreement with the province.

“The proposed agreement failed to meet the needs of teachers, failed to improve student classroom conditions in a concrete and meaningful way, and failed to show teachers the respect they deserve,” says ATA president Jason Schilling, in a release from the union.

The rejected offer included a 12-per-cent pay raise over four years and a government promise to hire 3,000 more teachers to address class sizes.

Teachers also would’ve had the cost of their COVID-19 vaccines covered by the government as part of the contract.

The government has said the contract would’ve been good for Alberta’s education system, say