Talks between the government and the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation are expected to resume next Tuesday. (980 CJME file photo)

By CKOM News/paNOW Staff

BACK TO THE TABLE

Saskatchewan teachers to lift sanctions as sides prepare to resume talks

Apr 12, 2024 | 10:45 AM

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation is set to remove sanctions as talks with the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee (GTBC) are poised to resume next week.

The Teachers’ Federation (STF) announced Friday morning that all sanctions would be lifted at 11:59 p.m.

A release by the STF said they have been assured that the GTBC has a renewed mandate, which prompted the move to axe the work-to-rule sanctions that have been in place this week.

Talks are expected to resume on April 16th.

“Teachers have maintained that accountability measures must accompany government funding in order to ensure resources go to support students and improve their learning experience,” said STF President Samantha Becotte in the release. “We are optimistic that this understanding represents a significant step forward in negotiations and brings a tentative agreement within reach.”

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Meanwhile, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill sounded optimistic that a deal could work.

“At this point, we are looking forward to being back at the bargaining table next week,” Cockrill told a Saskatchewan radio show.

“I think we have had some productive discussions over the last few days here,” Cockrill said. “I think there’s a clear path back to the bargaining table for both sides.”

The teachers have been without a contract since August. Talks between the sides have been stalled since mid-February when negotiations broke down — a turn of events that had each side blaming the other.

The teachers started levying sanctions against the government in January, with job action including rotating one-day strikes and withdrawing voluntary support for lunch-hour supervision and extracurriculars.

The sanctions have caused issues for parents and students, including cancelling major events like HOOPLA with the provincial high school basketball championships being reduced to a one-day event.

Caregivers also have been forced to make alternate arrangements.

The primary sticking points between the provincial government and the teachers’ federation have been salary, class size and composition.

Teachers have been pushing for increased funding to address class size and classroom complexity to be written into a new contract.

The government has acknowledged the issues, and increased funding to address them in its recent budget and guaranteed the funding over the next four years in an agreement with the Saskatchewan School Boards Association. But so far, the government has refused to include funding measures in the teacher contract.

The STF offered to take the matter to arbitration, but the government refused. The teachers’ federation has repeatedly said it won’t return to the bargaining table until those issues are included in negotiations.

The government claims funding is between it and the school divisions, but teachers have argued that classroom conditions are teachers’ working conditions and pointed to other provinces that have stipulations on class size built into collective agreements.

The union also argued that funding could be clawed back by government in the future unless it’s enshrined in a contract.

There appeared to be a light at the end of the tunnel in recent weeks when Cockrill said he’d be open to an accountability framework on classroom support money, but the teachers’ federation didn’t sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

STF president Samantha Becotte responded by saying the union was seeking clarification on some of the language in the MOU. As a result, negotiations have remained at a standstill.