Strike action: Alberta public education teachers will walk off job Oct. 6 if agreement not reached
Posted Sep 10, 2025 11:07 am.
Last Updated Sep 10, 2025 5:00 pm.
Alberta’s public education teachers will walk off the job in less than a month if an agreement with the province is not reached by then during bargaining, the union representing teachers announced Wednesday morning.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), the union representing some 51,000 full- and part-time teachers, says job action will be initiated Oct. 6 — the deadline to do so after a strike mandate was granted to them in June.
The ATA says members have chosen this route because they feel “disrespected and vilified” by the province.
“They’ve had enough of being underfunded,” president Jason Schilling said at a press conference in Edmonton. “They’ve had enough of not having the resources they need to meet their students’ needs. They’ve had enough of having their salaries fall further and further behind inflation. They’ve had enough, and government has ignored the alarms that teachers have been calling for years.
“I’ve sat down with government many times and expressed the concerns of members, and they get Band-Aid fixes, Band-Aid solutions. Things that are not going to be sustainable in the future, and teachers’ patience has run out.”
The union could have issued a 72-hour strike notice, the minimum for job action, but instead chose a notice of nearly four weeks. Schilling says that was done with parents and students in mind.
“Our strike mandate ends on Oct. 7, so we’ve pushed it as late as possible, and we’re giving this notice for parents, for students, out of respect for them, so that they can make themselves the arrangements that they need to make, so that they’re aware of what’s coming down the road,” he said. “Many people have been reaching out to the association members, parents, students alike, asking for clarity and wanting to know what’s happening.
“So we’re letting them know today that this is when the strike would commence, but we’re also looking for a means to negotiate a settlement in the meantime.”
Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner, in a statement, said he was “disappointed that the ATA is using the potential disruption of the school year as leverage in its pursuit of additional compensation. Announcing a strike commencing October 6 before the parties have resumed negotiations only serves to increase stress among Alberta’s students and families.
“Alberta’s government is committed to finding a fair settlement that ensures as many resources as possible are directed to essential classroom supports.”
No strike pay
If Alberta’s public education teachers do go on strike in October, they will not receive strike pay. Schilling says that was a decision that was shared with the members before they voted to strike in June — a vote that received 95 per cent support.
“Our strike vote tells you the power behind 95 per cent in favour of strike action, that you’re not going to get strike pay, that you are going out on strike for the benefit of our students without that,” Schilling said. “And that, to me, shows a profound commitment from teachers across this province to do what’s right for kids.
“We’ll work to support the strike in other ways, but we also have locals across the province that will work to support teachers as well.”
Schilling later clarified locals will not be providing strike pay.
“Strike pay would be provided by the provincial association, support provided by locals. Right now, we’ll work out those details as we get closer to those days. But they would set up strike centres, areas for support and other means like that.”
The head of the ATA says he does not believe the lack of strike pay would have any impact on how long teachers could be off the job.
Higher wages, new bodies
The teachers, whose latest collective bargaining agreement ran out in August 2024, want higher wages to keep up with inflation.
The Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA), the provincial body that represents school boards in collective bargaining, has reportedly proposed a wage increase of 12 per cent over four years. It’s also reportedly committed to hiring 3,000 new teachers across the span of the renewed collective agreement.
“Adding 3,000 teachers over the next three years is a start, but it doesn’t begin to meet the needs created by years of neglect and record enrollment growth,” Schilling said.
The ATA president says teachers have only seen a 5.75 per cent salary increase over the past decade and that doesn’t even keep up with inflation. The union has repeatedly pointed to national statistics that indicate Alberta’s per-student funding is among the lowest in the country.
Schilling says Premier Danielle Smith’s recent comments about “progress” being made in the province’s schools are misleading.
“I would invite the premier to visit any school across this province and to see for herself the damage that has been done by chronic underfunding,” Schilling said. “In this province, we have teachers who are dealing with the largest classes that they’ve ever dealt with in their lives. There are complex needs for students in their classrooms, and they can’t meet those needs on the daily basis. We have students who are learning in libraries and hallways across this province, and so to say that we’re making progress, I don’t understand where that is coming from, because my colleagues and my members across this province don’t see it that way.”
Smith said Wednesday she thought negotiations were going well and she is still hopeful an agreement can be reached, but added that the province’s offer hasn’t changed.
“We hope that there’s a bit of time for them to return to the bargaining table,” says Smith. “We’ve been pretty clear that we have the ability to give a 12 per cent pay raise over four years. We’ve had more than half of our collective bargaining agreements that have settled at that wage amount.”
Smith says they know the real issue is around classroom size and complexity that gets solved by having more teachers and teaching assistants in the classroom.
Last week, Horner said TEBA was ready to resume negotiations. The ATA also said it was prepared to return to the bargaining table.
“I am pleased to hear that the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) is returning to the bargaining table to continue negotiations with the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA),” Horner said Wednesday.
“This is a long overdue step after the ATA walked away from negotiations in late August and cast a shadow of uncertainty and doubt over the start of the school year.”
