​Alberta teachers withdrew their service for 16 days between October 6th and 28th, 2025, which was the largest labour action in Alberta history. Teachers collectively lost over 350 million dollars of salary, benefits and pension contributions. These 16 days cannot be purchased as pensionable service because the primary reason for the absence was a strike, even though a lockout followed. Since the Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (ATRF) does not consider this period to be an employer-approved leave, it isn’t eligible for purchase under the plan rules. 

The only way to recover this lost service is by earning additional service time in the plan going forward. Since pensionable service is calculated to four decimal places, even short periods like this have a measurable, although relatively small, effect. 

Your ATRF pension is based on a formula that uses both your pensionable service and the average of your best 60 consecutive months of pensionable salary. The following calculation applies:
• 1.4 per cent of your average salary up to the five-year average Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE) (the average YMPE in Canada for the five-year period from 2021 to 2025 is $66,580), plus
• Two per cent of your average salary above that amount.

These two amounts are added together and then multiplied by your pensionable service, which is calculated to four decimal places. For example, your current service is shown as XX.XXXX years. A reduction in pensionable service or salary such as what occurs during a strike, will have a small impact on your future pension. 

That said, ATRF is currently working on the calculations and adjustments. For active members, this means
• your reported 2024–25 annual salary and ATRF contributions for that year will be corrected; • there will be a further adjustment to your 2025–26 annual salary reported;
• the loss of 16 days’ earnings (approximately eight per cent) will be reflected in these adjustments for the 2025–26 annual salary reported. 

If a member is planning to retire soon, the new salary increases and the temporary earnings loss will both be applied to their annual salary reported if those years fall within their best 60 consecutive months. 

​Below is an example of the impact of the strike on the five-year average of a teacher retiring at the end of this school year: 

ATRF will adjust pension payments for retired members, as well as termination and transfer benefits, when applicable and if the adjustment threshold is met.   

While the effect on members’ future pension will likely be small, it is worth confirming your specific situation. Members can estimate their personal impact by logging in to their MyPension account and using the Pension Estimate Calculator. 

Teacher Employment Services will be hosting a second online seminar, “The Impact of Labour Action on Teachers’ Pensions,” at 7:00 PM on January 27th, 2026. Members interested in attending can register here.   

WORTH SHARING 
​Alberta teachers withdrew their service for 16 days between October 6th and 28th, 2025, which was the largest labour action in Alberta history. The Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund (ATRF) does not consider this period to be an employer-approved leave, so it isn’t eligible for purchase 

The following information has been provided by the Government of Alberta (November 21, 2025). The Alberta Teachers’ Association is simply sharing the information to support our members. The Government of Alberta has provided guidance on how teachers can access the provincially funded COVID-19 vaccine, including how to book an appointment and what to do if you have already been billed or have already paid for the vaccine.

Booking Your COVID-19 Vaccination at a Public Health Centre

Under the Back to School Act, teachers with a valid Alberta teaching certificate as of October 27, 2025, are eligible for a free COVID-19 vaccine administered through a Primary Care Alberta (PCA) public health centre.

To Book an Appointment
• Go to the online booking site.
• Select the vaccine type.
• Select your age group.
• Confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements. (A nurse will verify this at the appointment.)
• You may be asked if you want to participate in a University of Calgary study on adverse events. Participation is fully optional.
• Book one appointment at a time.
• Enter your personal health number (found on your Alberta health card).
• Search for a convenient location.
• Choose your preferred appointment time.
• Confirm your appointment.

What to Bring to Your Appointment
• Photo ID or two pieces of non-photo ID
• Alberta health card p 2 If you are an eligible teacher, you will not be charged, but you will be asked to sign the standardized financial form used at all public health sites.

Accessing the COVID-19 Vaccine Through a Community Pharmacy
Teachers may also receive the COVID-19 vaccine from a participating pharmacy. Note the following:
• Not all pharmacies will have COVID-19 vaccine stock.

Contact them first.
• Pharmacies may bill your private insurance for the cost of the vaccine.
• Pharmacies may charge an additional injection fee, which must be paid upfront. The injection fee may be eligible for reimbursement through a health spending account.

PCA cannot advise on pharmacy-administered vaccines.

If You Were Already Billed for a Vaccine

​If you were invoiced for a vaccine administered at a PCA public health centre October 20–27, 2025, contact PCA to cancel the invoice:
• 1-855-919-6097 (press 3, then press 2) (toll free in Alberta)
• 780-946-8951 (in Edmonton)
• [email protected]
You will be asked to provide your full name, your date of birth, the guarantor number on the invoice, your town or city, and the vaccine administration date.

If You Already Paid for a Vaccine
If you already paid for a vaccine administered at a PCA public health centre October 20–27, 2025, contact PCA to be reimbursed. (See the contact information listed above.) PCA cannot assist with pharmacy-administered vaccines. Read the full guidelines.

WORTH SHARING
Alberta teachers are eligible for a provincially funded COVID-19 vaccine through Primary Care Alberta. The Government of Alberta has outlined the processes for booking a vaccination appointment at a public health centre, accessing the vaccine through a pharmacy, and cancelling an invoice or being reimbursed for a payment for a vaccine administered October 20–27, 2025. The Association is sharing this information so members know how to access the vaccine and what steps to take if they were billed in error.

If you have questions about your personal employment situation or need support navigating these steps, please contact Teacher Employment Services at 1-800-232-7208. Read the full Worth Knowing. #WeAreATA 

​Bill 2: The Back to School Act legislatively imposed central and local terms, ended the 2025 strike and lockout, and invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield the legislation from Charter review.

The Association is taking multiple, coordinated legal and labour relations steps to challenge the Act, protect teacher rights and respond to emerging issues created by the Legislatively Imposed Settlement.
1.  Constitutional Challenge and Injunction Application
The Association has launched a constitutional charter challenge, asserting that Bill 2 violates
• freedom of expression [section 2(b)],
• freedom of association [section 2(d)],
• gender equality rights of teachers (section 28), and
• proper judicial oversight, by contesting the validity of the privative clause (section 14), which attempts to shield Bill 2 from review.

The Association is seeking
• a declaration that Bill 2 is unconstitutional and
• interim injunctive relief to stay the application of the Act while the constitutional challenge proceeds.

Although the initial injunction hearing date of November 20, 2025, was scheduled for planning purposes, it was adjourned because the matter is now being case-managed by the Court (to read the Worth Knowing on Case Management click here). A new date is expected for the injunction hearing within the next one to two weeks.

2. Recruitment Letter of Understanding (LOU): Dispute Over “Net New Teachers”

The 2024–28 Legislatively Imposed Settlement includes a Recruitment LOU stating that 1,000 teachers per year (3,000 total) will be hired.

The Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) confirmed on November 17, 2025, that the government interprets “net new” teachers to mean teachers hired beyond the prior year’s staffing levels, not in addition to the hiring allocation for 4,000+ teachers and educational assistants (EAs) already announced in Budget 2025.

This is inconsistent with the Association’s understanding of what was bargained and has serious contractual and fiscal implications.

The Association is considering all options, which could include responding through the following:

a) Grievance The Association may file a grievance asserting that the LOU was intended to secure 1,000 net new teachers per year beyond the staffing funded in Budget 2025.

b) Labour Relations Board (LRB) Complaint The Association is considering filing a complaint alleging bad faith bargaining and interference based on TEBA and government conduct dating back to August 2025.

3. Retroactive Pay for Teachers Who Changed Employers

​Teachers who have moved to a different division since 2024/25 must apply to their former division for retroactive pay no later than January 15, 2026. The Association has already advised members of this requirement and believes that school divisions have a duty to contact affected teachers.

The Association will
• monitor division-level communications,
• support teachers encountering problems and
• file grievances, where necessary.

4. Assignable and Instructional Time: TEBA Guidance and Association Response

Following the strike, TEBA directed school divisions to treat time lost during the strike as not counting toward the annual limits of
• 916 hours of instructional time and
• 1,200 hours of assignable time (Article 8 of the imposed agreement).

This guidance encouraged some divisions to add instructional minutes or days to “make up” lost time.

However, this contrasts with past practice as no divisions attempted to recover lost time after the 2002 provincially coordinated strike and the 2007 Parkland strike. 

The Association raised immediate concerns regarding TEBA’s guidance. TEBA now appears to recognize the legal and labour relations issues embedded in its initial position and is preparing revised guidance, which will be shared with the Association before it is sent to school divisions.

Going forward, the issue shifts to monitoring division-level actions, such as
• converting PD days (assignable) into instructional time and
• adding instructional minutes or altering breaks to recover time lost during the strike. The Association will review TEBA’s revised guidance and file grievances at either the TEBA or division level as required.

WORTH SHARING The Association is taking strong, multilayered legal action in response to Bill 2. A constitutional challenge is already underway, with the injunction hearing expected to be scheduled shortly. 

The Association is also preparing grievances and a Labour Relations Board complaint related to the Recruitment LOU and is actively supporting teachers seeking retroactive pay from former employers. 

We continue to monitor TEBA’s evolving guidance on instructional and assignable time and will act when divisions attempt to “recover” struck time. 

​Members with concerns should contact Teacher Employment Services at 1-800-232-7208 for support. Read the full Worth Knowing. #WeAreATA 

Bill 2, the Back to School Act, invoked the notwithstanding clause (section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms). This has caused understandable concern among Alberta Teachers’ Association members, who worry that their basic rights and freedoms—speech, expression, association and equality protections—have been suspended.

They have not.

Bill 2’s override affects Charter rights only to the extent necessary to achieve the explicit purpose of the act: To end the strike . . . and lockout . . . by establishing the central terms and local terms of new collective agreements. (Bill 2, section 2)

In legal terms, this is the four corners of the issue or dispute. In the context of Bill 2, the four corners means that the override is limited to the context of employment, labour relations and collective bargaining. It does not apply to a teacher’s personal life, private activity, political opinion or civic engagement.

Members remain protected by the Charter in all areas not directly tied to job duties or the prohibition on strike activity. In other words, the notwithstanding clause does not give the government blanket authority over your political expression, your personal beliefs or your private life.

However—and this is where precision matters—Bill 2 also includes broad definitions of the terms strike, work stoppage and refusal to perform duties. These definitions continue to apply, and members must avoid any concerted action that could be interpreted as putting pressure on the employer in order to influence working conditions.

What You Can Still Do
Attend Rallies, Marches and Demonstrations (on Personal Time)
You may participate in peaceful political demonstrations as a private citizen, including events related to education funding, public services or government decisions.

Wear Red for Ed, Buttons, Ribbons or Other Symbolic Expressions
Wearing symbolic items is protected personal expression, unless it disrupts instruction or violates an employer policy unrelated to labour action.

Speak, Write or Post About Public Education
You may continue to
• write to your member of the legislative assembly (MLA),
• submit an op-ed or a letter to the editor,
• post on social media,
• advocate publicly for strong public education, and
• express opposition to Bill 2 or government decisions.
Be mindful that you perform these actions only on your personal time, without directing students to join political activity and without coordinating a work stoppage.

Participate in Association Governance and Internal Discussion
The act does not stop Association members from participating in local meetings, voting, engaging in union democracy or discussing strategy.

Support Legal Challenges, Donate to Advocacy Groups or Join Community Organizations
Your rights to association and political involvement in your private life continue to operate normally in all areas not captured by the purpose of the act.

Engage in Personal Acts of Solidarity
You may continue to wear red, put signs in windows, attend town halls, write letters, speak publicly and organize public information campaigns, provided that these actions do not create or appear to create a coordinated refusal to perform work.

WORTH SHARING
Teachers have every right to continue advocating for strong public education in their personal lives. Bill 2’s use of the notwithstanding clause does not suspend your freedom of expression, your right to attend rallies or your ability to speak out as a citizen.
You can still
• attend rallies and other community events on personal time,
• wear Red for Ed,
• write to your MLA,
• speak publicly about Bill 2 and public education,
• post on social media, and
• participate fully in Association democracy.

What you cannot do is engage in any coordinated action that withdraws or limits your work. Bill 2 prohibits strikes, slowdowns and any collective refusal of duties, even symbolically. Your personal political expression remains protected, but your professional duties must continue as assigned.

​If you are unsure whether an action is safe or crosses into illegal strike activity, call Teacher Employment Services at 780-447-9400 or 1-800-232-7208 for advice.
Read the full Worth Knowing. #WeAreATA