Sask. education minister seeks binding arbitration, STF hopes for bargaining after second offer rejection

The day after Saskatchewan teachers voted “no” to a second tentative offer from the province, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) and Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill are united in looking for a path forward that will eventually end the now year long dispute.

However, one side is seeking to immediately move to binding arbitration while the other hopes there are still more options to discuss at the bargaining table.

Over two days, 88 per cent of STF members voted, with 55 per cent of those voting no to the latest offer.

In a media availability on Friday morning, STF president Samantha Becotte acknowledged that it was a difficult decision for teachers in the province to make.

“I understand where teachers are coming from on both sides of the issue but I think teachers recognize that we need to find more solutions for public education and whether they said this was a good enough start or not,” she said.

Going forward, Becotte said there are multiple items she would like to see in a new offer that weren’t included in the previous one.

“We’re talking about providing a basic level of service to our students, whether it is assurances that they will have timely access to mental health counseling, timely access to educational psychologists so that we can identify what the specific supports are that the students may require,” she said.

“We need to have the political will to start making those commitments.”

Becotte said they’re ready to have conversations to figure out what’s going to work and have different suggestions of how that could look.

She said ideally, the situation can be resolved before students head back to school in the fall.

The offer teachers rejected included accountability framework that would have been signed by the STF, government and Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) and attached to the agreement as a Memorandum of Understanding.

Also included was an additional $18 million per year to tackle classroom size and complexity, which would have been added to a multi-year-funding agreement that was signed by the SSBA and province earlier in 2024.

There was also the creation of a minister’s task force on classroom complexity that would have been made up of teachers, students and parents, as well as a policy table on violence free classrooms that was to be chaired by the Ministry of Education and include representatives from the STF and SSBA.

Salary increases proposed were three per cent in 2023, three per cent in 2024 and two per cent in 2025.

Becotte said regardless of the outcome of the vote, she would still continue advocating for public education.

“We knew that the fight for public education and improved support for our students was going to continue whether teachers ratified the agreement of not, so it doesn’t change my feeling towards this, there’s always work that needs to continue,” she said.

Becotte acknowledged that the dispute with the province has been going on for over a year. She said teachers are burning out and struggling to meet the needs of their students.

“It is really heartbreaking to be in this profession where we care so much about kids and we find joy in seeing them succeed and when you can't meet their needs, it is a discouraging process,” she said.

Education minister seeking binding arbitration

Saskatchewan Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said he feels binding arbitration would be the best course of action moving forward following the offer rejection.

Binding arbitration involves the submission of the contract dispute to a third neutral party who then hears each side’s argument and comes to a settlement decision of their own.

“We think that binding arbitration is the best path forward now to make sure that we can provide clarity for everyone including teachers,” Cockrill said on Friday morning.

He added that both sides left the bargaining table comfortable with where they were at when the latest tentative deal was reached.

Cockrill also said he felt that meant progress on teachers’ biggest concerns, classroom size and complexity, was made in the tentative offer.

“I think the progress was made several weeks ago and again I’m hoping that government’s willing to take this to binding arbitration so that we can have a fair process to get to an agreement and again really at the end of the day provide clarity and stability for our students.”

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When asked if binding arbitration was an option, Becotte said it could be a possibility but would like to get back to negotiations first.

“If they're not willing to engage in those conversations and have that good faith back and forth conversation then binding arbitration could be an option for a path forward,” she said.

In March, The STF invited the province to take part in binding arbitration on the issue of class size and complexity. However, Cockrill said at the time that it would not be appropriate since class size and complexity were not issues related to the collectively bargained agreement. 

If binding arbitration becomes a reality, Cockrill said that the two sides would each appoint a member to an arbitration board.

“Then we work together to find a mutually agreeable chair of that arbitration board and then both sides present their case if you will and then that body goes through all the facts and determines a path forward,” Cockrill said.

“We made progress at the bargaining table and now I think this is the best path forward to getting an agreement,” he added.

Teachers have been without a contract since August of 2023. Initial bargaining began in May of 2023.