Rocky View Schools (RVS) Divisions and the local Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) have reached an agreement addressing teachers concerns, according to RVS board chair, Fiona Gilbert on behalf of the RVS Board of Trustees.
"We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with our local Alberta Teachers Association that addresses what we heard was important to RVS teachers within the matters permitted to be bargained locally," Gilbert wrote in a statement released on Jan. 31. "We deeply appreciate the passion, expertise, and hard work RVS teachers bring to their schools and classrooms every day. We value all RVS teachers for their important contributions to students’ success, and we hope this agreement is a positive step forward."
Not long ago in November, public school teachers in Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane and Rocky View County, voted overwhelmingly to request a government-supervised strike vote.
ATA Rocky View Local No. 35 voted 99.6 per cent in favour moving toward a strike vote at its member meeting on Nov. 26, and rejected an offer from the division.
Negotiations with the division were not for salaries, which are determined by the ATA’s provincial bargaining unit, but rather for localized initiatives pertaining to work conditions and supports needed in classrooms.
Rocky View Local No. 35 president Amrit Rai Nannan said in November that RVS teachers felt disrespected by the school division throughout negotiations.
“The overarching feeling is the lack of respect,” she told the Great West Media in an interview. “With the high turnout to our Bargaining Unit General Meeting (BUGM) (on Nov. 26), and the high disapproval of the settlement, the message is clear (that) the employer needs to do better in addressing the concerns raised. Teacher wellness is a significant concern at this moment. We have been working without a finalized collective agreement since September 2020.”
The strike authorization vote came after teachers rejected a proposal by a third-party mediator to settle local negotiations with Rocky View Schools.
“Teachers want a settlement and do not want to escalate this issue,” Rai Nannan emphasized back in November.
“Teachers understand the concern and hope that parents also believe that it is important for their children's teachers to have a positive working environment,” she said. “A student's learning conditions are a teacher's working conditions. They are inextricably linked. We do not want to be at this point either. We want a settlement that addresses teachers' concerns. Our goal isn't to strike, but to work collaboratively with our employer on the concerns being brought forward and get to a resolution.”
With notes from Tim Kalinowski.
More information to follow with feedback from ATA.
