Students rallied behind teachers in Nipawin earlier this winter. (Submitted photo/Jessica Griffin)

By Susan McNeil

Teachers response

Bargaining went nowhere, STF says. Teachers to vote on latest offer

Apr 18, 2024 | 12:38 PM

Whether Saskatchewan teachers will accept the deal offered by the province is up in the air.

At a virtual news conference on Wednesday morning, Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) President Samantha Becotte said that despite high hopes last week, the offer from the province did not address the STF’s concerns.

She added it was the same deal offered this past summer and was not accepted.

“We didn’t want to go and sit at a table and hear no for another two days as we had previously experienced. Unfortunately, that is a majority of what occurred at the bargaining table with the GTBC (Government Trustee Bargaining Committee),” she said.

The bargaining committee returned with the same proposal they posted on billboards around the province in July, Becotte said.

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The STF has stated for months that the sticking points are not salary-related and they want a clause in the collective agreement that the province will keep their word about funding classroom size and complexity over the next four years.

“We said we were coming to the table in good faith. We wanted to work with the GTBC to reach an agreement that addresses the concerns that teachers have been bringing forward over this round of bargaining,”, she said.

Becotte also disputed Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill’s words that they had reached a tentative agreement, adding that the GTBC called their proposal a final offer multiple times while bargaining.

“A tentative agreement would imply that there were good faith negotiations that happened, that there was a back and forth and both sides agree,” Becotte said. “This was very clear from the (committee) that this is their final offer. There was no willingness to find further solutions within the bargaining process.”

READ MORE: Government says it has a tentative deal

Even as the STF held their news conference, Cockrill told the Legislative Assembly in Regina that a tentative deal had been struck.

“Mr. Speaker, the news came out last night that we’ve come to a tentative agreement between the GTBC and the STF leadership,” he said Wednesday morning.

Teachers will vote on the offer on May 8 and 9.

Becotte said the committee for the STF will be given the facts and the pros and cons of accepting the offer.

Meanwhile, Becotte added that the process has been difficult for teachers and relationships have been damaged.

“The action that we have seen from government, the actions from Saskatchewan School Boards Association and the actions of some division administration have shown the lack of respect and appreciation for teachers in Saskatchewan and a lack of appreciation for the work that they do as professionals in classrooms across the slate,” she said.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com