Sask. teachers now voting on latest tentative offer from province

Saskatchewan teachers have until 6 p.m. Thursday to vote “yes” or “no” on a tentative offer from the province that is being endorsed by the teachers’ federation president.

The three year agreement would be retroactive from Sept. 1, 2023 and expire on Aug. 31, 2026.

Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) president Samantha Becotte said the offer shows progress on the major issues that teachers have brought forward, including classroom size and complexity.

Prior to details of the tentative deal being made public the STF held town halls with teachers outlining the potential new deal.

“There’s improvements addressing teachers’ compensation, there’s improvements in articles, items in there addressing classroom complexity and violence in the classroom, as well as several other items that teachers have brought forward,” Becotte said on May 23.

The details of the proposed agreement include:

• An accountability framework that would be signed by the STF, government and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) and attached to the agreement as a Memorandum of Understanding
• An additional $18 million per year to tackle classroom complexity, which will be added to the multi-year funding agreement that was signed by the SSBA and the government
• Creation of a minister’s task force on classroom complexity, comprised of teachers, students, and parents. A final report would be presented to the Minister of Education, which will ensure input from teachers and students
• A policy table on violence-free classrooms chaired by the Ministry of Education, and including representatives from the STF and SSBA
• Salary increases of three per cent in 2023, three per cent in 2024, and two per cent in 2025

As of noon on Wednesday 44 per cent of teachers had cast their vote, according to the STF. 

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

-- With files from Caitlin Brezinski.