As an Alberta-wide teachers strike drags into its fourth day, a labour relations expert doesn’t see why the group in charge of bargaining for the government delayed their lockout.

Earlier this week, the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association notified the Alberta Teachers’ Association that a lockout would begin this afternoon.

Jason Foster from Athabasca University says the decision effectively stops teachers from being able to change how they strike, taking things like rotating job action off the table.

Foster says it also means school boards now have the option to start laying off workers such as educational assistants and custodians, who have been working since the strike began Monday.

He says the bargaining group had plenty of notice and could have easily issued the lockout notic

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