On May 8th and 9th, members of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation will be voting on the latest offer from the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee following two days of negotiations.
STF President Samantha Becotte says negotiations were, once again, difficult, as the province offered little to no movement on teachers’ concerns, such as class size and complexity.
“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,” Becotte explained.
“I don’t think that anything that we agreed to within this process, or anything that comes out of this process, is going to solve the issues of classroom complexity. That is going to be an ongoing conversation that will need to be addressed through increased investment from our government.”
The offer includes a three-year term with 3 per cent wage increases in years one and two, with a 2 per cent increase in year three. The offer also ensures the accountability framework around funding allocation will be honoured and followed.
Outside of the collective agreement, a letter of undertaking will also be signed by the chair of the GTBC. The letter will contain items that will address some of the proposals that teachers have brought forward.
“Unfortunately…anything within the letter of undertaking would be non-binding, and there is no dispute resolution process.”
Becotte says the GTBC was clear that this offer is their final offer, despite the Teacher’s Bargaining Committee pushing back several times.
“This was very clear from the GTBC that this is their final offer. There was no willingness to find further solutions within the bargaining process to addressed concerns that teaches have brought forward in this.”
A statement from the province called the offer a tentative agreement, but STF President Samantha Becotte says that is not the case.
“A tentative agreement would imply that there were good faith negotiations that happened, that there was a back-and-forth, and both sides agree that this was the best potential offer, and that it addresses, satisfactorily, the needs of both groups.”
She adds that this negotiation process has damaged relationships that will not easily be repaired.
Becotte says she trusts members to make an informed decision, and she will not be attempting to sway them one way or the other.
The Saskatchewan NDP says teachers have been shown nothing but disrespect throughout the entire bargaining process, so the province giving them a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ offer to wrap it up is no surprise however, it is disappointing.
NDP Education Critic Matt Love says not only has this bargaining process weakened relationships between teachers and the province, but negotiations started off on the wrong foot back in June, as well.
“This is a government that engaged in a billboard campaign before negotiations even started. They were contracting these billboards to run down the value of teachers in Saskatchewan before they even got to the table with teachers.”
Love says the province has labelled the offer as a tentative agreement… before the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation could even vote on it.
“We’re seeing, I think, somewhat disingenuous messaging from the government calling this a tentative deal. It’s not a tentative deal. It will be up to teachers to decide what they think of this offer and that will happen, from what I understand, on May 8th and 9th.”
Love adds that the STF has every right to demand accountability measures, as the Sask. Party is notorious for promising big on education funding and then failing to deliver.
He cites 2016 and 2020 as examples.
“Teachers were there in 2016 when the Sask. Party promised things for our classrooms, and in 2017 when they gutted our classrooms with over $50 million in cuts,” he states.
“They were there in 2020 when the government did the same thing; promise big in an election year, and then gutted it the following year. Teachers know this well, so the fact that they’re calling for accountability from a government that has failed them time and time again is a very reasonable approach.”
Love says ideally, the province should have approached bargaining in good faith, with an aim of lowering class sizes and returning supports that have been cut over the last 10 years.
