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Details on the newest offer from the province to teachers was unveiled by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) on Thursday, following two days of virtual town halls between the STF and its members.
The term of the tentative agreement would be three years from Sept. 1, 2023 to Aug. 1, 2026.
According to a news release from the STF on Thursday, the tentative agreement includes:
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An accountability framework that would be signed by the STF, government and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) and attached to the agreement as a Memorandum of Understanding -
An additional $18 million per year to tackle classroom complexity, which will be added to the multi-year funding agreement that was signed by the SSBA and the government -
Creation of the Minister’s Task Force on Classroom Complexity, which will be comprised of teachers, students, and parents. A final report will be presented to the Minister of Education, which will ensure input from teachers and students. -
A policy table on violence-free classrooms, which will be chaired by the Ministry of Education, and include representatives from the STF and SSBA. -
A salary increase of three per cent in 2023, an increase of three per cent in 2024, and a two per cent increase in 2025.
On Friday, the province and the STF announced that they reached a tentative agreement, nearly one year after initial bargaining began.
The virtual town halls were held Tuesday and Wednesday night to give teachers a chance to review the details of the agreement before making them public.
STF president Samantha Becotte said on Friday that the teachers’ bargaining committee and the STF endorsed and recommended the tentative agreement. Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill had thanked the STF executive for their endorsement on Friday.
Saskatchewan teachers will vote on the tentative agreement on May 29 and 30.
Their last contract expired in August of 2023 after bargaining started in May of 2023. Impasses were declared in October and January by the STF, with job action by teachers beginning at the start of 2024.
An initial offer from the province was rejected by teachers on May 9, with 90 per cent voting “no,” and more than 92 per cent of teachers voting.
-More details to come…
-With files from Drew Postey