Sask. teachers, province heading back to bargaining table after contract proposal rejected
One expert says provincial election this fall likely in the minds of both parties
After the latest contract proposal was rejected in a vote by teachers, the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) and the provincial government announced late Friday afternoon that they will head back to the bargaining table.
Looming over both sides is a provincial election set for this fall and a call by the education minister earlier on Friday for binding arbitration.
"We are prepared to resume discussions with the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation immediately to define and move forward with binding arbitration so that we can all get an agreement done," Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill told reporters on Friday morning.
That was a reversal of his position in March, when the STF called for binding arbitration and the province rejected it.
Cockrill said that in March, he felt there had not been enough time at the bargaining table, but the situation now is quite different after two proposals have been voted down by teachers.
STF president Samantha Becotte appeared open to the idea of binding arbitration when speaking with media Friday morning.
But Becotte called for the province's negotiators to be given a renewed mandate to address classroom complexity.
"If they're not willing to engage in those conversations and have that good faith, back-and-forth conversation, then binding arbitration could be an option for a path forward," she said.
Then later on Friday, the two sides announced they will resume negotiations next week on a new collective bargaining agreement.
Earlier on Friday, Becotte told media that the STF has been negotiating a new contract for more than a year and the province's 13,500 teachers have been operating without a contract for 10 months. That's why the STF was willing to consider sanctions again.
She did not provide specifics, but said those sanctions could include things already carried out this school year. Those have included rotating strikes, withdrawals from extracurricular activities and withdrawals from lunchtime supervision.
"If government is delaying the process in any way, not responding to what we have put forward and not providing a real commitment to come back with a renewed mandate, then we are left with no other option other than to apply sanctions," said Becotte.
The possibility of sanctions is now suspended as both sides prepare for negotiations but the STF said that if there is an impasse, "sanctions may be imposed with 48 hours' notice."
In comments on Friday morning, NDP education critic Matt Love said the province should head back to the bargaining table rather than immediately calling for binding arbitration.
"Minister Cockrill has said time and time again that, 'The best deals are made at the bargaining table.' So I think he should listen to his own advice when they're making progress and they appear very close to a deal," Love said.
Election the 'elephant' in the room
Charles Smith, an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan, studies the politics of labour movements.
In an interview Friday, prior to the announcement of the return to the bargaining table, Smith said binding arbitration would put the negotiations in the hands of a third-party mediator.
"Sometimes one side may come out better than the others and other times they may not," said Smith.
"That's the risky part of binding arbitration, because you don't get the final say in the hands of your members or in the people at the table. It's left to this neutral [third party] to digest the evidence and try and do the best they can."
In 2017, the government amended The Education Act to remove binding arbitration as an option if it's requested by only one party. However, if both parties agree to it, it is available as an option.
Smith said the provincial election scheduled for later this year remains "the elephant in the room" for both the STF and the government as they negotiate.
He said he believes it is at least one of the reasons Cockrill reversed course on the government's position on binding arbitration.
"I do think there's genuine desire to enter the fall of 2024, not just politically, but also to have some stability for, and I think this is true of both parties, some stability in the public education system." Smith said.
The result of the election could see the state of negotiations change or result in a new negotiating partner, Smith said.
Slim majority reject deal
On Thursday evening, the STF announced that 88 per cent of its members voted, with 55 per cent of those voters rejecting the latest collective agreement offer from the province.
According to an internal document sent to teachers before the vote and obtained by CBC News, the proposed contract covered a three-year term from Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2026.
It included promises of a task force on classroom complexity, to be co-chaired by the STF, the Ministry of Education and Saskatchewan School Board Association, and include teachers, students and parents.
There was no mention of class size, a central issue in the teachers' messaging during the ongoing contract dispute, in the internal document provided to teachers.
According to a news release from the STF, the offer included salary increases of three per cent in the first two years and two per cent in the final year. The document sent to teachers highlighted a one per cent "market adjustment" retroactive to Sept. 1, 2023, in addition to the eight per cent increase over three years.
It also referenced a letter of understanding with the province regarding "violence-free classrooms," including a reporting mechanism for incidents.
The vote held this week was much narrower than one held earlier in May, when 92.2 per cent of STF members voted, with 90 per cent of them rejecting the province's offer.
That offer had a similar salary increase of eight per cent over three years, but had even less language addressing classroom complexity, with an article stating that an accountability framework — laid out as part of a memorandum of understanding to ensure provincial funding doled out to the Saskatchewan School Boards Association would benefit students — would be honoured.
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