Here's how the tentative deal for Saskatchewan teachers compares to previous offers
As Saskatchewan teachers prepare to vote on a tentative agreement reached with the province, it could mark the end of a labour dispute that stretches back nearly a year.
In May 2023, the initial round of talks began between the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee. From the onset, teachers were pushing hard for solutions to address class size and complexity. The issue was already being discussed in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an early end to negotiations.
“Our withdrawal of these issues from this round of bargaining in no way signals resolution or reduced importance of these issues,” then-STF President Patrick Maze said after the tentative deal was reached in 2020. “Systematic changes take time and are often made incrementally. I believe we have advanced this issue significantly, and the Federation is unwavering in its dedication to address class complexity and ensure an adequately funded public education system in Saskatchewan.”
The 2020 deal was later ratified, in effect until August 31, 2023.
Prior to the deal’s expiration, the government tabled what it hailed as a “fair deal for teachers” in late June. It included a proposed salary increase of three per cent in year one, two per cent in year two, and another two per cent in 2025, the final year of the deal. But it failed to address class size and complexity.
That’s compared to the current tentative deal headed for a vote, which includes 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.
Negotiations quietly continued into July, when the STF released an update over “the government’s refusal to discuss solutions to the issues of class size and complexity.”
In addition to the lingering issues, the STF also said it was “disappointed” in the initial salary offer with negotiations set to continue into the fall.
The two sides would reach an impasse on Oct. 16, resulting in a sanction vote where 95 per cent of teachers were in favour. The breakdown in talks also led the STF to file for conciliation.
Saskatchewan’s Conciliation Board heard from the two sides over five days in December. The results were released in January, the STF saying the report concluded “teachers have the right to negotiate their working conditions”.
"As we have been saying, teachers' working conditions are students' learning conditions," current STF President Samantha Becotte said at the time. "Most recently, teachers in Quebec and Ontario have reached tentative agreements that include articles on class complexity. So this topic isn't new."
However the committee representing the government and Saskatchewan’s elected school boards disagreed with the STF’s interpretation of the findings, insisting that negotiations stay focused on salary and benefits.
Shortly after the report’s release, job action began with a one-day strike on Jan. 16, continuing to escalate after another round of failed negotiations in February.
The negotiations were reportedly short, with both sides blaming the other for the breakdown.
In an unusual move, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe released a video prior to the release of the provincial budget outlining ‘the largest increase in school operating funding ever’, but talks remained stalled despite calls from the STF for binding arbitration over the ongoing issues around class size and complexity.
Instead, it took until later in the month of March for a Memorandum of Understanding that would “lay out the terms of an accountability framework to ensure proposed education funding makes it into the classrooms and toward the supports that is intended for – to benefit students directly,” according to an STF release in early April.
At the time, the STF said the collective bargaining agreement must include the following language:
“The parties agree that the Multi-Year Funding Agreement and the accountability framework will be followed and honoured.”
Despite the apparent breakthrough on the potential MOU, teachers would end up implementing a work-to-rule policy on April 5 amid another stall in talks.
The policy was suspended the following Friday with negotiations set to resume, leading to the so-called ‘final offer’ announced Wednesday. The tentative deal does include “reference to the accountability framework in relation to a Memorandum of Understanding among the three parties.”
More details are expected on the new deal and what it contains when Samantha Becotte addresses reporters at a press conference scheduled for Thursday morning.
-- With files from Katherine Hill, Drew Postey, Josh Lynn, Caitlin Brezinski and David Prisciak.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.