Saskatchewan teachers hope to be back at bargaining table with government next week

Saskatchewan teachers could return to the bargaining table as early as next week to work out their labour dispute with the province.

Samantha Becotte, president of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation, told reporters Thursday she's encouraged by a draft memorandum of understanding from the government.

The document promises teachers a voice in how school divisions allocate funding. It includes a reporting mechanism to track how dollars are being spent.

Becotte said the union plans to work over the weekend so it can resume bargaining with the government next week.

"Talking about the need for teacher voices to be included in the decision-making process, that is important to have," she said.

"It's not ideal, it's not a perfect solution, but it is a step forward and something that we'll be able to build on in future years and future rounds of negotiation."

Missed school trip

Trevor Schiller is the parent of17-year-old Jorja Price who goes to Bethlehem Catholic High School. Price could not go on her school trip because of STF job action.

He said that this was the last chance for his daughter to go on a trip with her classmates, and that a lot of the kids had been working and saving up for over a year for the trip.

"My child was in tears. My child was devastated, frustrated. We were all very upset," Schiller said.

He said many other schools that registered through a different provider or through individual's names as opposed to school names were able to go.

Schiller said his focus now is graduation ceremony.

"It's a once in a lifetime thing that you're going to participate in. Our oldest daughter missed grad because of COVID. Jorja missed Grade 8 grad because of COVID. I'm going to monitor everything very closely and do everything that I can and speak up as much as I can to make sure that grad happens," he said.

He said he's planning to take a much more aggressive approach, wether it's getting involved as a parent and planning ahead orgetting exemptions for teachers.

"Obviously we don't want to miss another grad, and I think most parents are willing to step up to the plate and do whatever they have to do to take things over in order to to make sure that the kids can experience this," Schiller said.

Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill told reporters he believes the document addresses teachers' concerns over classroom sizes and other supports.

The federation has said it wants those items in the collective agreement. The province does not.

"This has been a long process and at times a frustrating one," Cockrill said Thursday. "The teachers have asked for a number of items from government, and we have agreed and offered many of those."

WATCH|More extracurricular activities cancelled as Sask. teachers, gov't remain at bargaining impasse:

More extracurricular activities cancelled as Sask. teachers, gov't remain at bargaining impasse

6 months ago

Duration 2:21

The STF and the government are still at an impasse in their contract negotiations. Now, some parents say the strike is hurting students after some trips have been cancelled.

Becotte said the federation wants a dispute mechanism in the memorandum to ensure money earmarked for student supports actually goes there.

The document says dispute resolution mechanisms won't be available. It also says local teachers' associations would only serve in an advisory capacity and hold no decision-making power.

Cockrill blamed the federation for launching job action this month that led to the cancellation of Hoopla, a popular provincial basketball tournament.

Students in Saskatoon have also seen a trip to Europe scrapped.

Cockrill said the province would ensure graduation ceremonies can go ahead if job action is called.

He couldn't provide details on the plan, but said the government is working with school boards so students can walk the stage.

Becotte said the province could have prevented past job action had it agreed to bargain on classroom sizes and other supports.

"Our ideal is we don't have sanctions at all. We are doing everything we can to have sanctions end," she said.

"With the minister's comments about putting in resources to ensure there's graduation, [the government] should be putting that time and energy into our negotiation process."

The Saskatchewan Party government has touted record spending on education in this year's budget, which includes a promise of $46 million more for classroom supports. The government has signed a separate agreement with school boards to allocate those dollars.

The federation has said the additional money doesn't keep up with inflation and increased student enrolment. It has also questioned whether the government will commit to that funding in the future, noting the province has made cuts in the past after promising more money.