The Tories don't seem to believe in agreements. Witness how it has treated the petroleum industry, the biggest employer and industry in the province.

I guess Stelmach must figure if he isn't bound to an agreement, why should anyone else be?

The ATA and the province agreed to split $6.1 billion dollars of unfunded pension liabilities; the province was generous and agreed to pay two thirds the cost while the ATA agreed to pay one third the cost, which was $2.1 billion.

To head off a potential teacher's strike that may interfere with the upcoming election, the Stelmach government generously absorbed the ATA's 1/3 of the unfunded pension liability. This was a $2.1 BILLION dollar give away by the province. At the stroke of a pen, Stelmach reallocated $600 from each Albertan to 30,000 teachers.

All to buy the teachers off from striking for five years.

For every teacher, this is the equivalent to $15,000 per year for five years; or a one time bonus of $90,000. It also results in an instant gross increase in pay of 3.1%; which will probably be a net increase of about 5%.

I agree that teachers strikes should be illegal. Many parents depend on being able to take their children to school to be able to work. If the school is shut down due to a strike, the people can't work. I think it should be easy to define teachers as an essential service which isn't allowed to strike.

Actually, I think any public service strike should be illegal. The private sector can have strikes because presumably the only affected parties are the workers and owners of the company affected. Public sector strikes affect everyone in the public, not just the employer and employees so in my view should be banned.

Teachers reach pension deal with province
Jason Fekete, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, November 16, 2007

Premier Ed Stelmach bulldozed through potentially his largest political barrier to electoral success on Thursday, announcing a multibillion-dollar deal to cover the teachers' unfunded pension liability in exchange for five years of labour peace.

Spending watchdogs, however, assailed the government for "selling out Albertans," while opposition parties said the deal was struck for political expediency, not because it's the right thing to do for nearly 30,000 teachers who could go on strike.

The tentative deal between the province and the Alberta Teachers' Association will see the government swallow the teachers' $2.1-billion portion of the unfunded pension liability up to 1992, on top of the $4.3 billion owed by the province -- for a total of $6.4 billion.

But the agreement is contingent upon all 62 publicly elected school boards and local teachers' bargaining units ratifying the deal by the end of January. If they don't, nearly 30,000 teachers from 54 boards could be on strike in the new year -- possibly in the midst of an expected spring election campaign.

"The challenge now is one of time," Stelmach said in Edmonton, insisting the agreement balances the needs of teachers, students and taxpayers. "It's just a huge -- not necessarily a burden -- but off the shoulders" for teachers, his government and all Albertans, the premier added.

Indeed, the government might be breathing the biggest sigh of relief.

An agreement with teachers would prevent a province wide strike in early 2008 that could cripple the Tory government in an election campaign, argued David Taras, political analyst at the University of Calgary.

"It's very convenient for the government. It's the preemptive strike," Taras said. "It's part of clearing the decks and making sure there's labour peace, so it doesn't become an issue during the election."

The unfunded pension liability has been a thorn in the side of Tory governments for years. The former Klein government failed in repeated attempts to strike a deal.

Since it was created in the 1930s, the teachers' pension fund has been underfunded by both the government and the ATA. The liability currently totals $7.1 billion, including $6.4 billion up to 1992 -- when both sides agreed to increase their contributions -- as well as $700 million since then.

Currently, 3.1 per cent of every teacher's salary is deducted to cover the pension liability, including new teachers who weren't working when the deficit was generated. The new deal would allow teachers to keep the cash that's being allocated to cover the unfunded liability.

"I'm quite confident this will be greeted warmly by the teachers," said ATA President Frank Bruseker. "This is a real positive move . . . What this will mean is labour peace in the education sector."

If school boards and teachers' ratify the deal, it will eliminate any possibility of strikes or lockouts until September 2012.

Stelmach said the deal is critical because the current funding structure of the pre-1992 liability could have cost both sides upward of $45 billion to eliminate it over the next 52 years.

While his government has committed billions in cash, the premier said he's not sure where all the money will come from and how quickly the province will burn the pension liability.

"We're going to be working through a number of scenarios," Stelmach said, noting a pact with teachers has been a priority since he first took office.

But the deal was immediately assailed by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. The group suggested covering the $2.1-billion teachers' portion will cost $600 per Albertan and simply amounts to a "payoff" designed to keep the Tories in office.

The government could have achieved labour peace and saved billions in the process by simply banning teachers' strikes, said Scott Hennig, Alberta director of the taxpayers federation.

"Stelmach sold out taxpayers on this for political expediency," Hennig charged. "This is not a move to help teachers or students. This is a move to help the Stelmach government avoid a teachers' strike during a provincial election."

Opposition parties welcomed the deal but accused the Tory government of only agreeing to it now because a provincewide teachers' strike in the new year could sideswipe them on the campaign trail. "This very clearly takes us one step closer to an election," chimed Liberal finance critic Rick Miller.

But even Miller recognized the agreement is politically savvy on the government's part and steals ammunition from the Grits and other parties.

"Our policy platform just got a page shorter," he said.

NDP Leader Brian Mason said the proposed agreement looks positive, but insisted it took a looming provincial election campaign to force the government to do the right thing.

"The government is prepared to spend a considerable amount of money in order to solve a major political problem," Mason said.

Alberta Alliance Leader Paul Hinman said he's worried about the final price tag and what it could do to provincial coffers.

"It's a good day for the teachers. It sounds like a good day for the government," Hinman said. "But is it a good day for the taxpayers?"

jfekete@theherald.canwest.com