RTA teachers vow to fight back-to-work law but pledge to follow it

Alberta’s teachers say their battle for bargaining rights is far from over, even as they prepare to comply with new legislation forcing them back to work. The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) issued a statement early Tuesday condemning the government’s use of the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to end their three-week strike, calling it “a gross abuse of power” and “an egregious assault on the collective bargaining rights of teachers and, by extension, all workers.”

“This fight has just begun,” the union declared, vowing to pursue every possible legal challenge to Bill 2, which compels teachers to return to classrooms immediately under threat of heavy fines — up to $500 per day for individuals and $500,000 per day for the union. Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government pushed the controversial legislation through all stages of debate in just six and a half hours, invoking closure to fast-track its passage before dawn.

The bill cleared third reading at 2 a.m., drawing cries of “Shame!” from the opposition.
Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides defended the move, saying the strike had gone “beyond inconvenience” and was harming students’ development. Smith did not attend the debate, having departed earlier Monday for a trade mission in the Middle East. Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi and the Alberta NDP voted against the bill, denouncing the government’s use of the notwithstanding clause as “authoritarian.”

“Albertans will be forgiven for asking, ‘Who’s next?’” Nenshi said. “What rights is this premier willing to trample?” The government’s decision has set up a confrontation with the Common Front, a coalition representing over 350,000 public-sector workers. Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labor, said unions across Canada are preparing an “unprecedented response,” including the possibility of coordinated strikes.

“My message to Alberta teachers is simple: you will not stand alone,” McGowan wrote on social media. “We will stand up to the bully.” McGowan confirmed meetings are underway and that the Canadian Labor Congress will convene an emergency session, with its president, Bea Bruske, flying to Alberta for a Wednesday press conference. Labor groups are also raising funds to cover potential fines from any illegal job action.

In its statement, the ATA warned that allowing governments to override collective bargaining through constitutional loopholes threatens all workers. “An attack on teachers’ right to free association is an attack on all workers,” the union said, “and sets a dangerous precedent for this government to trample on other fundamental freedoms.” The teachers’ strike — Alberta’s largest ever — began October 6, keeping more than 740,000 students out of school. The dispute centered on class sizes and classroom complexity, issues the union says the province has ignored for years.

Bill 2 enforces a previously rejected four-year agreement offering a 12% wage increase, plus the hiring of 3,000 new teachers and 1,500 educational assistants. It also overrides protections in the Alberta Bill of Rights and the Alberta Human Rights Act. Premier Smith argued that stability in classrooms required “a flexible, collaborative approach,” not a one-size-fits-all solution through bargaining. She pledged to collect and publish data on class sizes and to create a panel on classroom complexity.

The ATA responded that the legislation might end the strike but not the underlying crisis.
“Although this law may lift the lockout,” the union said, “it does not end the underfunding and deterioration of teaching and learning conditions.”