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The association wanted the government and boards to hire more teachers and other school staff, such as psychologists, educational assistants, and occupational therapists, Jeffery said. They hit an impasse, he said, and called in a mediator in December 2018.

One new wage increase in seven years

An arbitrator will hear arguments from teachers and their employers, and must decide by Sept. 30, 2019, if the current wage grid for 48,000 teachers should stay the same, or rise, association spokesman Jonathan Teghtmeyer said Monday. The arbitrator cannot reduce teacher pay, and any increases cannot take effect before April 1, 2019, Teghtmeyer said.

Teachers have been without a contract since Aug. 31, 2018. While the cost of living rose, Alberta teachers have seen no new wage increases in six of the last seven years, Jeffery said. The last wage hike was a two per cent salary bump in September 2015.

“It can easily be said that teachers have done their part to assist this government to manage their budgetary difficulties,” Jeffery said. “We’re looking to catch up on some seriously lost ground.”

Teachers do receive wage increases as they move up through a salary grid based on their years and level of experience.

The new agreement, which lasts from Sept. 1, 2018, to Aug. 31, 2020, also improves benefits and allowances for employees in some school districts who lagged their colleagues across the province.

Once a provincial agreement is inked, teachers will enter into another round of bargaining working conditions with individual school boards. Teachers and five of the province’s 61 school boards have yet to reach local collective agreements covering the 2016-2018 period.

TEBA members agreed to the contract before the provincial election was called in March, Teghtmeyer said. A government spokesperson said the public service couldn’t comment on the deal during an election period.

jfrench@postmedia.com

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