​The Public Education Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA) governs collective bargaining for teachers in Alberta. PECBA dictates what can be bargained, centrally and locally, along with the timing of the negotiations.
 
First, the Alberta Teachers’ Association, through its Central Table Bargaining Committee (CTBC), and the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) must decide on what items can be bargained and at which table (central or local). This initial phase in the bargaining process, called list bargaining, will start in the weeks ahead.
 
The next phase is matters bargaining. This is where the CTBC negotiates with TEBA on central items, such as salary, classroom complexity (composition and size), time (assignable and instructional) and benefits.
 
To help the CTBC, teachers complete a central needs/matters survey. This, along with other connection points (such as focus groups and local meetings), allows the bargainers to more fully understand teachers’ needs and expectations for the upcoming round of bargaining.

The 2024 round of central bargaining will be the fourth time we have used the PECBA model. As a result, and with what we learned from the last round of list bargaining, which required arbitration to complete, the CTBC has a good idea of the main items likely to be discussed at the central table. The CTBC is asking members to complete the 2024 Central Matters Survey now. Provincial Executive Council will use this information to finalize the initial proposal for central bargaining.
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To access the survey, go to https://surveys.teachers.ab.ca/s3/Central-2024-Bargaining-Survey or scan the QR code.

The survey will be open from Monday, January 29, 2024 to Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at 4:30 PM.

The survey is anonymous, and we strongly encourage you to answer the questions fully to ensure that your needs are accurately articulated during central matters bargaining, which is likely to commence in the spring. The survey will take you 20–25 minutes to complete, depending on the options you choose and the amount of detail you provide for the open-response questions.
 
If you have questions about the survey, please contact Teacher Employment Services. Your input and advice are greatly appreciated.

WORTH SHARING
With the 2024 round of central bargaining coming soon, bargainers need to understand what teachers are looking for. Please complete the 2024 Central Matters Survey at https://surveys.teachers.ab.ca/s3/Central-2024-Bargaining-Survey by February 20 at 4:30 PM. Your voice matters. Complete the survey and have your say! #WEAREATA

​When teachers in Alberta bargain their collective agreements, it’s done through two separate but connected stages. It’s a unique and complicated process that can cause a great deal of confusion for many members.
For that reason, the Alberta Teachers’ Association is creating a series of videos that explains the bargaining process in a clear, concise manner. 
“Unfortunately, confusion about the negotiation process often leads to disinterest and disengagement,” said Sean Brown, the ATA’s associate co-ordinator for Collective Bargaining. “These videos will help teachers follow the process and get involved.”
Titled Bargaining Basics, the video series is being produced in 10 instalments.

1. Why do we collective bargain?
2. What’s my role?
3. Process overview
4. Who represents me?
5. Central vs local bargaining
6. Preparations and opening
7. Negotiations and mediation
8. Impasse
9. Dispute
10. Resolution, ratification and agreement

Each video is between 1.5 to 2.5 minutes long. The series can be viewed in order or at the member’s discretion. Brown said he wanted to ensure the videos were brief and free of the jargon that often creates confusion. 
As the videos are completed, they will be added to a playlist on the Association’s YouTube channel, which already includes the first two video instalments. The ATA’s January school mailing will include a brochure further detailing each of the videos and their content.
“These collective agreements impact our members on a daily basis,” Brown said. “Many of the benefits we enjoy today were hard-fought gains from previous negotiations. We need the involvement of the entire membership to make sure those gains don’t start to slide.” 
Brown says one of the most valuable assets negotiators can bring to the bargaining table is the support of the full membership. 
“We need engaged members who know what they want and, more importantly, how to get it. Hopefully this video series will help us achieve that.”
The Bargaining Basics video series is being produced in both English and French. 
How to view
To view the videos, go to the ATA’s YouTube channel and look for the Bargaining Basics playlist.

Full-time teachers will notice a reduction in their take-home pay come January as a result of premiums for the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and employment insurance (EI) restarting for the new calendar year.
 
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires employers to deduct CPP and EI premiums for all employees in Canada. Teachers who earned over $66,600 during 2023 reached both CPP and EI maximum contribution amounts last summer or late spring. At that time, they would have noticed an increase in their take-home pay. In the new year, those deductions will start again.
 
There are changes to the CPP premium structure for 2024 because of the CPP enhancements brought in by the Federal Government. There are now two thresholds or ceilings for contributions. The second additional CPP contributions (CPP2) begin on 2024 01 01. They are additional CPP contributions for workers who earn higher wages. CPP2 contributions are made in addition to base CPP and first additional CPP contributions.
 
Members will contribute 5.95 per cent (CPP) up to $68,500, the first ceiling, and then four (4) per cent (CPP2) of the amount they earn between the first ceiling and the second ceiling, which for 2024 will be $73,200. In 2025, and every year after, the amount of the second earnings ceiling will be approximately 14 percent above the amount of the first earnings ceiling.
The maximum pensionable earnings for both CPP and CPP2 are those on which the employer and the employee are required to contribute to the CPP in a year for the employee’s employment with that employer. Employees will reach their maximum deductions at $3,867.50 for CPP and for those required to pay CPP2, the maximum deduction for 2024 will be $188.
 
All of this means that for a teacher in 2024 earning above $73,200, their total maximum deduction (CPP + CPP2) will be $4,055.50. In 2023 maximum was $3,754.45. This is an increase in 2024 of $301.05.
 
The EI maximum annual insurable earnings amount for 2024 is $63,200. This is the maximum insurable earnings on which the employer and employee are required to pay EI premiums in a year for the employee’s employment with that employer. Teachers will reach their maximum deductions at $1,049.12. Both the maximum pensionable earnings amount and the contribution rate have increased from 2023 levels. The increase to the maximum deduction is $46.67.
 
WORTH SHARING
Teachers will notice CPP and EI contribution deductions again on their January paycheques. With the new CPP structures in place, there will be a larger increase in CPP deductions. CPP will become a large part of teachers’ retirement income. More information can be found at www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp.html. #WEAREATA

All teachers represented by the Alberta Teachers’ Association in public, separate and francophone schools are now covered by the same instructional and assignable time language. There is a maximum of 1,200 hours of assignable time, with 916 of those hours being the maximum instructional time.
 
The difference between the instructional hour maximum and hours of instruction for students (950 hours for Kindergarten to Grade 9, and 1,000 hours for Grades 10–12) is unassigned time. During this time, teachers can do what they want (within reason)—such as preparing lessons, engaging in assessment or reading a book. It is their time and is not directed. If a teacher chooses to leave the school during this time, they must follow the school’s checkout procedures (for example, letting the office know) and must return in time for their next class.
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Because hours are calculated over the school year, a school division can address time pressures or overages at any point during that school year. Teachers may have more instructional or assigned time (such as supervision or parent–teacher meetings) in one semester or term than in another. However, their instructional time at year’s end must not exceed 916 hours, and the total assignable time (including total instructional time) must not exceed 1,200 hours. As long as those maximums are not exceeded, the employer has met its obligations in the collective agreement.
 
The sooner a resolution is sought to handle an overage, the more options are available. Time is complex and finding a solution can be challenging. Teachers who project that they may go over the maximum time should have a conversation with their principal to review their time calculations. This underscores the importance of tracking one’s time.
 
The Association and the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) have an understanding that teachers do not need to make up time away on an hour-for-hour basis. In other words, if a teacher is away from classroom duties on an approved leave or for a professional development day, they do not owe the employer those instructional hours. However, the teacher may be responsible for decisions made or work arising from those absences, which might require additional time for the teacher. For example, if a teacher is on sick leave and cannot attend parent–teacher interviews, the teacher is still responsible for reporting to parents. Some creativity on the part of the teacher may be needed to meet this expectation.
 
At the heart of this understanding is that there is no capacity to remove time that has already been worked. Furthermore, the language in the collective agreement does not allow for compensation if a teacher exceeds the maximum hours.
 
From the first inclusion of time protections, the Association has strongly encouraged school divisions to build a time cushion by not scheduling to the maximum, thus allowing schools to account for unforeseen factors, such as substitute teacher shortages.
 
Due to the lack of substitute teachers, teachers may be required to undertake additional instructional time during their unassigned time. While the clock cannot be turned back to subtract hours worked, the clock can be stopped. School leaders may give this time back to teachers when a substitute teacher is available to cover their class. In this ad hoc situation, the teacher’s instructional clock stops.
 
For example, during a teacher’s unassigned time on Monday, the principal asks the teacher to cover another teacher’s class because a substitute teacher is not available. When the teacher covers that class, their instructional time increases by the length of that block. On Thursday, the principal lets the teacher know that a substitute teacher is available to cover one of the teacher’s own instructional blocks. The teacher agrees to take the coverage. The teacher’s instructional clock has now stopped. While this does not erase the extra time the teacher worked earlier in the week, the covered block does not count in the teacher’s instructional time.
 
To cover other teachers’ classes in their unassigned time, teachers must have the instructional time available. Everyone has time early in the school year, but as the year progresses, that flexibility decreases. Again, teachers must be aware of their time.
 
WORTH SHARING
While teachers’ time away on approved leaves is not owed, calculating instructional and assignable time is nuanced. Address questions about your time calculations with your principal. Extra time worked cannot be subtracted, but the clock can be stopped. If you need help calculating your time or interpreting clause language, contact Teacher Employment Services. #WEAREATA