Rocky View Schools board of trustees supports the Government of Alberta and ATA tentative contract deal.
On April 18, Colleen Munro, chair of RVS’ labour relations committee, announced the trustees will support the contract deal; this support however, is contingent upon its labour relations committee reviewing the Ministerial Order slated to be released in May.
The order will bring the new contract into effect.
“Our board feels it prudent that our labour relations committee review the government’s ministerial order to ensure the order reflects the tenets of the proposed contract,” she said.
“At the end of the day, we don’t want to be surprised by something left to interpretation.”
When the tentative four-year agreement was first announced March 15, Munro said trustees were planning to meeting with the minister to get clarification with the local bargaining piece of the agreement and how it could impact teachers in the newsroom. On April 18, Munro said ministerial staff were able to “allay our concerns.”
“We agreed to the framework, predominately because of our cost containment and the ability to at least maintain services in the best interest of our students,” said Munro.
If approved, the agreement will freeze teacher salaries for three years followed by an increase of two per cent in 2015 and a one-time lump sum payment to be funded by the government in that same year. It would also limit a teacher’s instructional time to 907 hours per year and would include a commitment from the government not to change teachers’ collective bargaining rights for the duration of the contract. May 13 is the deadline for Alberta’s 62 school boards and ATA locals to vote on the agreement.
In a previous interview, Michelle Glavine, president of the Rocky View Teachers said the Rocky View Alberta Teacher’s Association (ATA) Local 35 will vote on the agreement May 7.
