SASKATOON – Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation has announced it is suspending all job action, and has confirmed the union has been invited to resume negotiations by the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee.
According to the union, the bargaining committee has said it received a new mandate from the provincial government, and extended an invite to STF to resume negotiations. That happened late Wednesday afternoon.
The union has accepted that invitation, and the two sides are set to meet Monday, Feb. 12 in Saskatoon.
Premier Scott Moe shed some light on what was proposed to teachers in a post on the X platform:
"The teachers’ union has said they would like the same salary formula that MLAs have and that they will return to the bargaining table if the government offers a new mandate.
"Earlier this afternoon, that very deal was offered."
As a show of good faith bargaining, the teachers’ union has announced it is suspending all planned job action effective immediately, calling off Thursday’s planned province-wide withdrawal of noon-hour supervision. Teachers will be back providing that supervision on Thursday.
The union had staged a second round of rotating strikes on Wednesday at various locations across the province; the rotating strikes are also being suspended.
The two sides had been at an impasse for some time, but the resumption of negotiations is being welcomed by the teachers' union in hopes there can be progress towards an agreement.
“We welcome the opportunity to return to the bargaining table to discuss teachers’ proposals and the important issues facing education in Saskatchewan,” said STF President Samantha Becotte in a news release. “We are hopeful that the GTBC’s new mandate will allow for productive negotiations that will address the needs of students and teachers.”
Becotte further adds the union is “encouraged by this change in course,” adding that the “solidarity of teachers and the outpouring of support from parents, students, businesses, churches and religious groups and the general public across the province have played a crucial role in helping bring government back to the table. These past weeks have made it clear that teachers are united and committed to students and public education. Should these negotiations fail, job action will resume.”
In a video posted on social media, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill has provided further details about the new offer being put to the teachers union:
"We want to ensure that salary and benefits for teachers remain competitive into the future, as they are today, with Saskatchewan teachers earning above the Western Canadian average. The teachers' union has indicated they will return to the bargaining table if the government has a new mandate. The leadership of that union has also stated they would like the same salary formula for teachers that all members of the legislative assembly have.
"That is why we have authorized the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee to offer a new mandate to either negotiate an extension of the current salary offer, or to negotiate a deal that would see teachers make the same annual salary adjustment under the same salary formula that MLA's receive. And those salary adjustments would be based upon the cost of living, a compensation formula that would include a three percent ceiling and a zero per cent floor, depending on the Consumer Price Index of the previous year. And we have offered that very deal to the teachers union, the deal that they asked for.
"The teachers' union clearly stated that they would need to see a renewed mandate from the government in order to return to the bargaining table. Now that a renewed mandate has been provided, it's time for the teachers union to be true to their word. Let's get back to the bargaining table where the best agreements are negotiated for out students, our teachers and all Saskatchewan families."
