Government, STF reach tentative agreement, members to vote

After two days of negotiations, the province has presented the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) a final offer, which will go to members for a vote.

The STF provided the update on negotiations in a release sent early Wednesday evening, outlining the government's offer.

The offer includes a three year agreement, a salary increase of three per cent in year one, three per cent in year two, and two per cent in year three with retroactive pay to September 2023.

The deal would also include reference to the accountability framework outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding between the province, STF, and school boards. 

The STF and province agreed to return to the bargaining table on April 12 after having not sat down for talks since Feb.13.

Teachers have been adamant that their most important concerns are classroom size and complexity, something the province said should not be discussed at the bargaining table, but left to the school divisions to tackle.

Saskatchewan teachers have been without a contract since August of 2023, with initial bargaining beginning in May 2023. The STF declared impasses in October and February.

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Teachers in Saskatchewan have taken part in continuous job action, which included one-day strikes, withdrawal of lunch hour supervision, and cancelling supervision for extracurricular activities. 

Most recently, the STF announced a "work to rule" job action, which the federation said would be in place until talks resumed. 

A statement from the province outlined the terms of the tentative agreement, meant to provide stability to the education sector. 

"The GTBC feels this is a fair and reasonable agreement that will benefit Saskatchewan students, teachers, and families," the statement read

STF president Samantha Becotte will be holding a virtual media availability on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. 

-With files from Drew Postey and David Prisciak