October 9, 2025
RED FM News Desk
As Alberta’s provincewide teachers strike stretches into its fourth day, questions are mounting over why the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) delayed implementing its planned lockout.
Earlier this week, TEBA notified the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) that a lockout would begin late Thursday, preventing teachers from altering their strike strategy — such as shifting to rotating job action.
Jason Foster, a labour relations professor at Athabasca University, called the move “unusual” and said the delay raises eyebrows.
“They had plenty of notice,” Foster said Wednesday. “They could have easily issued their lockout notice to align with the strike deadline, so I’m not sure why they didn’t.”
Foster explained that the lockout also gives school boards the option to begin layoffs for non-teaching staff, including educational assistants and custodians, who have been working since the strike began Monday. “That would be the second major impact of this coming into effect,” he added.
In a statement, TEBA chair Scott McCormack defended the decision, saying the measure aims to prevent “tremendous uncertainty” caused by rotating strikes earlier this year.
The job action by roughly 51,000 Alberta teachers — the largest walkout in the province’s history — stems from a breakdown in negotiations with Premier Danielle Smith’s government over issues including wages, overcrowded classrooms, and growing student needs.
Teachers overwhelmingly rejected the government’s most recent offer, which included a 12 per cent pay increase over four years and the hiring of 3,000 additional teachers.
The strike has disrupted learning for more than 740,000 students across 2,500 schools, with no sign yet of an imminent resolution.
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