Teachers in Saskatchewan have refused to go back to the bargaining table after the province’s bargaining committee invited the teachers’ bargaining committee back to the table without a new mandate.
Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation president Samantha Becotte said teachers are always ready to go back to the table but said the province needs to be willing to talk about the issues important to teachers.
“The Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee (GTBC) asked the Teachers’ Bargaining Committee (TBC) back to the bargaining table either today or next week. The TBC indicated it is always ready to negotiate and meet at any time and asked if the GTBC had a renewed mandate,” Becotte said.
“The GTBC stated it did not have a renewed mandate; therefore, the TBC has declined this invitation. The TBC reiterated that it is prepared to return to the table at any time but expect the GTBC to have authority to negotiate on all issues of importance to teachers and Saskatchewan families.”
Becotte said when the province comes back with a new mandate and is prepared to talk about issues like classroom size and complexity, teachers will return to the bargaining table.
The STF also warned about an escalation of job sanctions once teachers and students come back from break on Feb. 26, saying a required minimum 48-hour notice will be given for any further job action.
“If government does not get serious about bargaining, they can anticipate that job action will not only
continue but escalate.”
Jaimie Smith-Windsor, president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association said on Friday afternoon that a dedicated fund for local school boards is being established by the Government of Saskatchewan to address classroom complexity.
She said boards believe that classroom complexity is an issue that should be dealt with on a local level and not in a provincial collective bargaining agreement, adding that communities across the province are very diverse.
“A framework for reporting will be developed by the Boards of Education, the Ministry of Education, and the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, with a mandate to report at the local level and to aggregate at the provincial level as part of the Provincial Education Plan,” Smith-Windsor said.
She said she believes this will meet the needs of students and address concerns raised by teachers.
“This opportunity, outside of bargaining, allows the parties to return to the table.”
Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said on Wednesday that the two sides did meet at 1:00 p.m. Monday, but once a new proposal was introduced, discussions stopped.
“By 1:30 we were the only ones left in the room,” Cockrill said Wednesday.
“Teachers union leadership refused to talk about salary or any of the other items that they brought forward,” Cockrill went on to say. “They brought forward ten items. Class size and complexity is one of the ten items that they identified when the bargaining process started many months ago. We have moved from our initial offer showing that we’re wanting to get a deal done, a fair deal done, and the union leadership wouldn’t even discuss those items (Monday) and walked out of the room.”
More to come.
-With files from Andrew Benson
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