Sask Teachers Federation drops job action, will negotiate with province Tuesday

Teachers across Saskatchewan have suspended job action as the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) and provincial government have agreed to return to the bargaining table.Negotiations are expected to resume Tuesday. Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill welcomed the development in a news conference in Saskatoon."We'll see them at the bargaining table," Cockrill said on Friday. "We look forward to that because obviously, we know everyone in this province wants to come to an agreement."The government provided the STF with a draft memorandum of understanding that promises teachers a voice in how school divisions allocate funding. The document includes a reporting mechanism to track how dollars are being spent."The latest piece on offer here is an accountability framework which really will offer teachers to have a voice in terms of feedback to local divisions on how dollars are allocated within local school divisions," said Cockrill. "We are not going to be including class size and complexity in the contract, but what we are willing to include is having some wording around teacher voice and ensuring that teachers do have a voice about what happens in their local school divisions."STF president Samantha Becotte said the union has found enough cause to return to the bargaining table and hammer out an agreement."Talking about the need for teacher voices to be included in the decision-making process, that is important to have," she said."We have seen a willingness to ensure that there is language that provides those guarantees and provides better assurances around supporting students in their classrooms and around accountability."Cockrill told reporters the document has provided a good starting point."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."Becotte said the union is ready to spend full days to work out a new contact."I hope these are 12-hour days. I hope we're getting down to the conversations that need to be had so that we can get to a resolution as soon as possible."In a video posted to Facebook, Premier Scott Moe welcomed the breakthrough as "good news" as rotating strikes, withdrawal of extracurricular and noon hour supports and finally ongoing work-to-rule job action had taken a toll."It has cost students valuable learning time in the classroom and has taken away important extracurricular activities outside of the classroom,” he said.Moe said the teachers' federation took a "reasonable position" that governments and school boards honour their commitments within a contract."Our government is prepared to see this language included in the contract," said Moe.“This common ground has led to today's announcement that bargaining will resume next week and I am very hopeful that it will form the very basis for bargaining a new agreement that works for all sides and ensures that our kids receive the best possible education,” he said.Saskatchewan teachers have been without a contract since August 2023, even though bargaining began in May 2023.Last month's provincial budget dedicated $356.6 million in annual funding to addressing classroom supports, up $45 million from the previous year's budget.

Sask Teachers Federation drops job action, will negotiate with province Tuesday

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