The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation says it has turned down an invitation to resume bargaining.
The STF says there was no new bargaining mandate for the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee. STF President Samantha Becotte says the Teachers’ Bargaining Committee is prepared to return to the table at any time but expect the GTBC to have authority to negotiate on all issues of importance.
The Government Trustee Bargaining Committee, according to Becotte, was willing to return to the table today or any day next week.
Becotte says when the GTBC has a new mandate and is prepared to discuss all of the issues, including class size and complexity, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation is willing to go back to the table.
Teachers commenced job action today which resulted in the cancellation of classes in Prince Albert and Battlefords because of the rotating one-day strike by teachers. Province-wide, there is to be no noon hour supervision. Parents will have been contacted about this with each school division handling the situation differently.
With Family Day on Monday being a statutory holiday, it marks the beginning of February break for students. The STF says there will be an escalation of job sanctions after classes resume on February 26. The STF says teachers will provide a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to any further job action.
Meantime, the Saskatchewan School Boards Association is weighing in on the debate over whether or not class size and complexity should be addressed in provincial contract negotiations.
The SSBA has effectively sided with the provincial government in saying that class complexity should be dealt with at a local level, and not in a provincial collective bargaining agreement.
A news release states that the government has provided school boards with $53 million specifically for dealing with complexity, and if teachers would agree to doing so, both sides could return to the bargaining table to discuss other matters, such as salary.
Teachers have made it clear that they wish to have classroom size and complexity solutions included in the contract, so they know they will have access to reliable, annual funding to address the issue.
