Dozens of students played hooky from school to rally for teachers at Alberta’s legislature today as a provincewide teachers’ strike deadline nears.
They shouted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, where did the budget go?” and waved signs in solidarity with the province’s 51,000 teachers who are fighting for higher wages and reduced classroom sizes.
Nyla Ahmadzai, one of the rally’s organizers, says students were at the legislature to raise awareness about the difficult work conditions faced by teachers.
She says there are between 37 and 42 students in each of her classes and that her teachers are overwhelmed.
Rahma Qureshi, who joined a protest outside Holy Trinity school in Edmonton, said she decided to take part because “Alberta has the most underfunded public education system in the country despite being one of the richest provinces.”
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The Alberta government and the Alberta Teachers’ Association resumed contract negotiations on Friday with the union promising that teachers will hit the picket lines on Oct. 6 if a new deal can’t be reached by then.
In a written response to an inquiry from Global News, a spokesperson in the office of Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner said the government and the Alberta Teachers Association “continue to work collaboratively with the hope of coming to a fair deal for our teachers. Out of respect for the bargaining process, we have no further comment at this time.”
With files from Global News.
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