ATA files 61 grievances, alleges bad-faith bargaining
Following the imposition of a settlement for teachers, the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) is taking steps to ensure the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) is upholding its commitments. On December 12, the ATA launched a coordinated legal offensive against TEBA, filing a Labour Relations Board (LRB) complaint and 61 grievances, one against each public, catholic and francophone school division in the province. The LRB filing specifically alleges bad-faith bargaining regarding a commitment to hire new teachers.
61 grievances filed
“TEBA is responsible for ensuring employers are following the language of the imposed settlement, which includes hiring 3,000 teachers,” said Sean Brown, ATA coordinator, Teacher Employment Services.
Because the hiring of additional teachers—part of the settlement imposed on teachers by Bill 2, the Back to School Act—is the responsibility of employers to enact, grievances had to be filed in all 61 public, catholic and francophone boards.
The dispute centres on a letter of understanding (LOU) concerning teacher recruitment. According to the ATA, negotiations during central bargaining included a commitment to hire 3,000 “net new” full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers over the next three years—1,000 per year starting in 2025/26. While the Association asserts these teaching positions were to be in addition to those funded in the March 2025 provincial budget, the government has taken the position that the new hires include those already budgeted.
“We were clear in our understanding and messaging from the province,” said Brown. “At the time, the province said that they gave teachers what they asked for. However, that appears to no longer be the case.”
The ATA’s position is that the intent of the discussions from the bargaining table should be respected.
“The government’s current stance contradicts the very context in which the initial deal was struck and what was, in the end, legislatively imposed.” Brown said. “The government’s statements now that the hiring was already part of the budget calls into question the government’s desire to actually decrease class size and address classroom complexity.”
Allegations of bargaining in bad faith
In its filing with the LRB, the ATA argues the matter constitutes a violation of the Labour Relations Code, claiming TEBA’s silence on their “net new” definition misled the Association and its members during the ratification process. The bargaining in bad faith complaint filed with the LRB also cites government interference, alleging that public statements from the Government of Alberta questioned the ATA’s motives and undermined its ability to represent its members.
Additional local grievances filed
Just one week after the submission of the original 61 grievances and LRB complaint, an additional three grievances were filed on behalf of the Calgary Public, Calgary Separate and St. Paul locals. These complaints centre on the corresponding school boards’ deferring earned teacher retroactive pay until at least January 2026.
The ATA maintains the school boards should have known that retroactive pay was a significant possibility since May 2025 and should have taken appropriate steps to be prepared for that likelihood. The information needed to calculate the owed retroactive pay was provided to the employers in November.
“Teachers have a right to receive their pay, including any retroactive salary, in a timely manner,” said Brown. “School divisions should have been prepared to implement the procedures required to provide teachers their owed salary, as per their legislated responsibility from Alberta’s Employment Standards Code.”
Now that the 2026 taxation year has started with no resolution reached before the end of 2025, Brown says the new goal of these grievances is twofold: (1) to ensure teacher retroactive payments are provided as soon as possible and (2) to make every impacted teacher whole by requiring employers to provide some financial award to ensure the increased 2026 tax burden will be mitigated.
Remedies sought
When it comes to the 61 grievances filed across the province, the ATA is seeking several remedies, including the following:
- a formal declaration that the 3,000 teachers must be funded and hired over and above the 2025 fiscal plan
- an order compelling TEBA to fulfill the hiring obligations for the current 2025/26 school year
- financial damages, to be determined at arbitration
“The ATA is taking strong action to hold TEBA and the government accountable for their bargaining commitments,” said Brown.
