Aspen View Public Schools ratified a new two-year collective agreement with the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) Local No. 7 on Nov. 9.
The agreement, effective for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years, was reached after a bargaining period beginning in September and ending Oct. 14. The agreement was then approved with 96 per cent of certified local teachers voting in favour Oct. 30 and ratified by the school board Nov. 9.
The new agreement includes an additional day off for teachers for family needs, two days off in lieu for principals and a clarification for assigned duties of substitute teachers.
Aspen View deputy superintendent Neil O’Shea said the negotiating process went smoothly.
“We have a really good relationship with our ATA,” O’Shea said. “The process takes some time. But in the end, we were able to come to an agreement.”
ATA Local No. 7 president Stephanie Cumbleton also said the process went well.
“Our local economic policy committee and the Aspen View board side dealt with things very well. Very collegial and did well in a very short time frame,” she said.
The agreement comes on the heels of a central collective agreement reached by the ATA and the province in May 2017. That agreement, which is in effect province-wide, includes a zero-per-cent salary increase for certified teachers and clauses to address instructional time and assignable hours.
After that, each school division had to negotiate at the local level to come up with collective agreements with their own teachers.
For substitute teachers, the local agreement includes a protection that if a school cancels their employment with less than 12 hours notice, the substitute will still get their pay. The agreement also formalizes the breaks allowable for substitute teachers.
“That’s something that our local felt was very important,” Cumbleton said. “Substitute teachers are quite often forgotten in negotiations and we want to make sure we’re looking after their needs as well.”
The day off for family needs was requested to help teachers who need time off to look after family members, so they don’t have to use a sick day, O’Shea said.
“We have a lot of teachers who may be taking care of elderly parents or they may be looking after additional members of their family,” O’Shea said. “This is allowing some flexibility for some caring to family needs.”
The extra time in lieu for principals was added to the local agreement after being removed from the provincial framework in 2015, O’Shea said. The two days are aimed at making up the extra time principals dedicate to work throughout the year.
“It's very important to recognize our administrators put in a lot of work. And a lot of that work occurs long after the school day is finished,” Cumbleton said.
The agreement will be in effect until August 2018, at which point a new agreement will have to be made at the provincial and local levels.
