The association representing 51,000 Alberta teachers who have been off the job since Oct. 6 says they have been asked to return to classrooms voluntarily and attend talks where class-size caps and pupil-teacher ratios were off the table.
As classes were cancelled for the ninth day for about 750,000 students, Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling said teachers turned down a request to attend “enhanced mediation” meetings that would prevent teachers from taking any job action for a month.
Schilling said the association wouldn’t participate in what he said was a process biased in favour of employers, adding that he found the proposal insulting.
“This is one of the driving factors that teachers have been pushing for,” Schilling said at a Friday news conference. “They've been talking about the fact that their classrooms are overcrowded, that they do not have the resources to meet the needs of their students.”
At a news conference in response on Friday afternoon, Premier Danielle Smith said Albertans should "fully expect" legislation forcing teachers back to work during the week of Oct.
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