Sask. government MOU has STF ‘cautiously optimistic’ about potential bargaining agreement

A glimmer of hope is on the horizon as the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation said it will be working over the weekend to try to come to a bargaining agreement with the government of Saskatchewan.

Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill announced on Thursday that a memorandum of understanding was offered to teachers with support from the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, saying that all parties would work together to create an accountability framework for the multi-year funding agreement that was signed between the SSBA and the Education Ministry earlier this year.

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STF president Samantha Becotte said she hopes to come back next week with some good news.

“I want to thank Minister Cockrill for bringing this novel idea forward,” Becotte said.

“We have engaged in plenty of back and forth, including this morning, on the MOU and we are cautiously optimistic. This is the closest we have been to returning to the table, and we are willing to work through the weekend to make that a reality.”

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and the government of Saskatchewan have been butting heads over bargaining for several months, with teacher job action that includes rotating strikes and withdrawals of extracurricular activities.

The STF wants items like classroom size and complexity to be enshrined in a bargaining agreement, saying teachers should be able to negotiate their working conditions and hold school boards and the government accountable for long-term funding, but the province has said that falls under school board jurisdiction.

An offer of binding arbitration was brought forward by teachers in an attempt to break the gridlock, which would see the bargaining discussion go to a neutral third party to look over the matter, but the Ministry of Education refused.

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Teacher job action has led to events like Hoopla being cancelled.

The outcry from students has been torn, as some protests have taken place outside the STF building, calling for a stop to anything that would affect extracurriculars, but other protests have been in solidarity against the province, with calls for more long-term education funding to be provided.

The government of Saskatchewan also said it will do everything in its power to make sure high school graduation goes off without a hitch despite any potential teacher job action.

Cockrill didn’t give exact details but said the ministry would work with the SSBA so that the resources, whether it be money or securing a location, were there to make sure students still got grad.

More to come.

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