Contract talks between teachers' union and Sask. government reach an impasse
Conciliation board report expected in mid-January
The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) and the provincial government ended contract talks Tuesday without a resolution.
In an email to teachers, the STF said that over five days of conciliation talks, the government-trustee bargaining committee did not make headway on the major issues.
Saskatchewan teachers' contracts ended in August. In October, teachers overwhelmingly voted in favour of possible sanctions, though none have been imposed.
"Unfortunately we continue to see the government hold firm in their position and refuse to negotiate on, really, the biggest issues that teachers have been bringing forward," STF president Samantha Becotte told CBC Wednesday.
She said the province is refusing to negotiate on teacher working conditions and student learning conditions like class size and class complexity.
Becotte also said the province is underfunding education and that the STF wants to see more professional support for students and fewer split-grade classes.
CBC contacted the Saskatchewan government for a response and received a written statement from the education ministry. It said the government-trustee bargaining committee is committed to bargaining "on items relevant to the provincial teacher collective agreement, including salary and benefits."
"Saskatchewan is a large and diverse province, and school divisions make decisions every day on how to best resource classrooms that respond to local needs," the ministry said. "The government of Saskatchewan will not bargain away the ability of locally elected school boards to continue to make those decisions."
The government deflecting onto school boards is "very much political posturing," said Charles Smith, an associate professor of political studies at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan.
"At the end of the day, the government is responsible for footing the bill on public education," he said. "They make the decisions on these things when it comes to the ultimate dollars that are used to put resources into classrooms."
Other provinces, such as B.C., Ontario and Manitoba, have come to agreements with teachers on issues like class sizes, Smith said. The discussions can be difficult, because they ultimately involve more money to hire more resources, but it's clear that teachers want those issues to be a priority, he said.
Given the teachers' vote in October supporting sanctions, Smith said he expects the STF's strategy will try to put pressure on the government to come to a fair agreement, possibly starting with limiting extracurricular involvement by teachers or limited strike actions.
Matt Love, the education critic for the NDP, told reporters on Wednesday that teachers are standing up for things that matter not only to them, but to parents and children in the province as well. Any potential future disruption to learning "falls squarely at the feet" of Premier Scott Moe, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill and the Sask. Party government, Love said.
"The problems that plague our classrooms … start with classrooms that are crowded with students with complex needs, needs that are going unmet in classrooms across this province every single day," he said. "This government has shown no interest in solving those problems."
Conciliator's report expected next month
Becotte said the union is now waiting for the conciliation board's report, expected by Jan. 15.
"Teachers sent a clear message to government with the overwhelming vote in favour of job sanctions and have given the [bargaining committee] and STF executive authority to implement sanctions at any point during this school year if necessary," she said in a statement Wednesday.
"Teachers have approached bargaining in good faith and will continue to do so as we await the conciliator's report."
The last time teachers voted in favour of job action was during the previous collective agreement negotiations in February 2020. Becotte said that in the history of teachers' negotiations in the province, dating back to 1996, most weren't resolved without the conciliatory process.
"We are willing to come back to the table at any point and continue that negotiation process really as soon as the government is willing to start the negotiation process from their side," she said.
"It shouldn't be this difficult of a process."
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With files from Jessie Anton and Hannah Spray