More job action planned for Friday as contract talks between Sask. teachers, province stall again

Contract negotiations between the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation and the province have stalled again, and the union says more job action is set to begin on Friday.

The teachers' federation informed its members Tuesday that the two sides have reached an impasse.

The union announced its members will withdraw noon-hour supervision provincewide on Friday, while there will also be another one-day rotating strike that day, following other one-day strikes in recent weeks.

Members at the following local teachers' associations and schools are set to walk off the job Friday, the union says:

• Tri-West Teachers' Association: Living Sky School Division, Light of Christ School Division, Sakewew High School (North Battleford).

• Prince Albert and Area Teachers' Association: Saskatchewan Rivers School Division, Prince Albert Catholic School Division.

• Association locale des enseignantes et enseignants fransaskois: cole St-Isidore (Prince Albert), cole Valois (Prince Albert), cole Pre Mercure (North Battleford).

• DLC (Distance Learning Centre) north central campus in Prince Albert.

Bargaining stalls out

Samantha Becotte, the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation's president, posted a video on social media on Tuesday following the failed bargaining process. She outlinedthe teachers' concerns around salaries, classroom size and complexity.

"This government is trying to sidestep the bargaining process," Becotte said in the video. "They do not want to make long-term commitments that they can be held accountable to, to ensure that our students get the support that they need."

Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said the government-trustee bargaining made a new salary offer. He added that the government is willing to talk about more measures to address classroom size and complexity, but said those discussions can't happen at the bargaining table.

"We've made investments in the year to add dollars to school divisions for classroom size, classroom complexity, we've added additional in-year investments in previous weeks, I have signaled there is more investment coming in March in our provincial budget," Cockrill said.

"It's frustrating through bargainingto have one side, the government, make movement on several issues, adding additional investment into education outside of bargaining, but then we have another side in bargaining that doesn't seem interested in finding solutions or being at the table."

WATCH|Sask. education minister speaks to media after bargaining breaks down again:

Sask. education minister speaks to media after bargaining breaks down again

9 months ago

Duration 5:29

Bargaining between the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation and the province once again reached an impasse Tuesday. Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill spoke with media Wednesday morning.

Cockrill pointed to the province committing $47 million toward enrolment and complexity plus the hiring of more educational assistants for the 2023-2024 school year, and providing $6.1 million for pilot projects aimed at helping classrooms.

He said the government has provided a commitmentto the teachers that it willallocateat least $53.1 millionper year to address classroom complexity.

On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan government announced it is providing an additional $32 million in funding for 45 new relocatable classrooms to increase classroom space throughout the province

Becotte said commitments to addressing class size and complexity that are made outside of contract talks don't go far enough in ensuring there is stability in the education sector for years to come.

"[If] it's not in the collective bargaining process, there is no dispute resolution if the government were not to hold up their side of the agreement, so essentially it's an agreement with no accountability," Becotte said at a virtual media conference on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, as history has shown, they walk back on their word too often, so that agreement really isn't worth the paper that it's written on."

Charles Smith, an associate professor of political science at the University of Saskatchewan's St. Thomas More College, said other provinces have language around classroom complexity in teacher contracts.

"Having it in the contract makes it more concrete, it makes it more predictable, it makes it more stable. We'll know that this is going to be worked upon," he said. "Any negotiator at the table should be able to find thelanguage, I would think, that alleviates some of these ambiguities."

Having classroom complexityoff the table, he said,doesn't bind the government to a fixed cost.

"My suspicion is they're concerned it will lead to much higher costs for them and they're trying to minimize that," he said.

Both sides accusing the other of walking away

Teachers in the province have been without a contract since August and began a series of escalating job actions last month with rotating one-day strikes.

The most recent round of contract negotiations started earlier this week and ended with both sides accusing the other of walking away from the bargaining table.

Cockrill provided his account of what happened at the bargaining table in a social media video on Tuesday.

"Bargaining requires both sides to be at the table, and the government-trustee bargaining committee was ready to negotiate a fair deal," Cockrill said. "But the teachers union chose to walk away after just 30 minutes."

Becotte disputed that description. She said the government-trustee bargaining committee delayed talks until Monday afternoon, then pushed them to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday before cancelling altogether.

"We had committed to those two days. I was fully expecting to be there until midnight or 2 a.m or whatever it took to get to a tentative agreement," Becotte said.

"But like the minister said, we need two sides at the table to make that agreement, and the government-trustee bargaining team has never had the authority to negotiate [on class size and complexity] at the table and then they just simply didn't show up."

Becotte said there were no discussions around teacherssalaries and benefits in this round of negotiationsbecause the government-trustee bargaining committeenever returned after aconversation concerningclass size and complexities on Monday.

She also said it's frustrating that teachers need to continue taking job action to motivate the government to move off its position, but that they are willing to do so.

Opposition NDP leader Carla Beck saidin a media briefing on Wednesday that the onus is on Saskatchewan Partyto get back to the table.

"This requires good will, it requires good faith, and it also requires sitting down and being willing to bargain," she said.

WATCH|STF president speaks after negotiations stall:

STF president speaks after negotiations stall

9 months ago

Duration 6:07

Saskatchewan Teachers' Association president Samantha Becotte spoke with media Wednesday morning after negotiations with the province on a new teachers' contract reached another impasse.