Teachers to Vote on Contract Offer

Saskatchewan’s teachers will voice their opinion on the contract terms offered by the government in two weeks’ time on May 8th and 9th. In public statements made by Minister of Education, Jeremy Cockrill, he described the offers made as a “tentative agreement” while STF President, Samantha Becotte, called it a “final offer” saying that throughout the two days of meetings held last week, the teacher’s bargaining committee was told time and again that this was the final offer by the GTBC (Government Trustee Bargaining Committee). For his part, Minister Cockrill told reporters that since it was being taken to the teachers for a vote it was, therefore, a ‘tentative agreement.’ The STF sees it differently. Becotte says that using the term ‘tentative agreement’ implies that there were good faith negotiations that happened, that there were ‘back and forth’ discussions, and that both sides agreed that this was the best potential offer that addressed satisfactorily the needs of both groups. It was noticeably clear, she said, that there is no willingness on the part of the GTBC, to find further solutions within the bargaining process that would address the concerns that teachers have brought forward, therefore there was no agreement on the part of the Teachers’ Bargaining Committee (TBC), that this addressed the needs of teachers.

As a democratic organization, the STF values the voice of its members, Becotte said, so they wanted to provide the teachers with the opportunity to have their say on the final offer. Having heard from the GTBC that they believe this is a fair offer, the STF is ready to present the facts to the members and have them weigh all the information, look at how it impacts them as individuals, how it will impact the collective of teachers across the province, and how it will ultimately impact students in classrooms and make an informed decision about whether they feel that this is acceptable or not. The voices of the 13,500 teachers working in Saskatchewan will be respectfully listened to, Becotte stated.

Teachers in Saskatchewan belong firstly to the individual teacher’s associations in their respective school divisions. Local teacher associations negotiate with school boards through Local Implementation and Negotiation Committees (LINC), elected by members or appointed by the Executive of each local association, negotiate teaching and learning conditions that reflect the particular needs of the local collective including sabbatical leave, educational leave, salaries for substitute teachers, duration of the local agreement, pay period for teachers, and special allowances. Then they are also members of the larger provincial body, the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation who bargain with the government for the provincial-wide collective agreement. The Minister continues to refer to the STF as a union, but there are differences between unions and federations. In a union, a centralized governing body is formed with authority to make decisions for the entire union and members often have less autonomy and have to abide by what union leaders decide. In a federation members retain significant sovereignty and delegate only certain powers to the central “government,” in this case the STF. Local associations and the STF each have their own areas of responsibility and work for the best interests of individual teachers, but in decisions such as contracts, every teacher member casts a single, independent, and anonymous vote. The STF will be presenting the facts to the members but will not be telling them how to vote. They will remain neutral. The teachers are intelligent and dedicated to their profession, and they know what is best for themselves, what is best for their schools, and what is best for their colleagues, Becotte affirmed, and they will make the right decision no matter what it is because their voices are the most important. Becotte says she is looking forward to having conversations with teachers about how they are feeling. She has seen an initial reaction from members both on social media as well as in direct conversations and she looks forward to having further conversations.

The bargaining team heard the words ‘final offer’ several times when they were at the bargaining table with the GTBC. So, after two days of seeing little to no movement, they felt it was time to take that ‘final offer’ and have members take a look at it and provide their voice within the process. The salary offer includes a three percent increase in the first and second year of the contract and two percent in the final year. It also included the one line the TBC had been pushing for about ensuring that the accountability framework would be honoured and followed. Outside of the collective agreement, there was an agreement to have a Letter of Undertaking signed by the chair of the GTBC containing items outside of bargaining that would address some of the proposals teachers have brought forward. Letters of Undertaking like Memorandums of Understanding are non-binding and there is no dispute resolution process.

During the April 18th press conference, Becotte resisted being drawn by reporters into giving her personal opinion on the offer, saying her voice is the voice of the teachers. The teachers will provide the direction for where this will go in the future, they will provide the recommendation to the TBC on whether to accept or to continue to seek more. When asked if the offer is beneficial to students, she replied that it is a conversation that will be ongoing. The issue of classroom complexity will need to be addressed through increased investment from the government to ensure that students are getting the support that they need in classrooms all across the province. What has come out of the process is the accountability framework that ensures the restricted funds will be directed to classrooms and includes an opportunity for teachers to be included. Teachers, after all, are the ones working with students day in and day out and they understand the challenges of their classrooms, their schools, and their communities. They provide an important perspective in the process.

When questioned as to how this offer is different from the earlier offer, Becotte said there are slight improvements in this offer over what was initially offered, although, when the TBC returned to the table on Tuesday, April 16th, it was presented with that original offer. The current offer does nothing to address the significant loss of purchasing power teachers have experienced and have talked about needing to have a correction to. On the other hand, there have been movements towards starting to address the challenges of classroom size and complexity through the increased funding that comes within the multi-year funding agreement with SSBA. Even though the teachers have no way to hold the government accountable for that and to ensure that those funds continue, Becotte hopes that members of the public will continue to have that conversation and push for that.

In the days leading up to the May vote, the STF will share detailed information with its members and provide them with time to consider all facets of the offer and the situation, and to ask questions and have them answered. Regardless of the result of the vote that will be held in two weeks time, the bargaining process has taken a toll on the relations between the government and the sector. Becotte said, “The actions of government, the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, and some Division administration has shown the lack of respect and appreciation for the teachers in Saskatchewan and for the work they do as professionals in classrooms.”

Relationships once damaged, are not easily repaired. The government’s billboard campaign last summer painted teachers as greedy and gave false information about teacher’s compensation and that set the tone for negotiations. The messages from the government throughout this dispute, have continued to paint the teachers as unreasonable and engaging in activities that are depriving students of a full educational experience including Minister Cockrill claiming in a March 2024 response to an email from a member of the public, that teachers have held “121 strike days for school divisions” and “152 removals of noon hour supervision” in the five months prior, even though there were less than 100 instructional days in that period. Premier Moe is quoted by the CBC on March 14, as saying, “We’ve been very clear that we’re looking to move and have moved on a number of topics. The STF has not moved on any topics…and we’re trying to make every effort to find solutions….” The messages that have been delivered to the public can only be seen as trying to sway public opinion away from teachers.

On April 10th, the Regina Leader-Post reported that Minister Cockrill had sent a letter to school board trustees asking for their support in swaying the public. “I am counting on trustees to help make the case to the public that this round of bargaining has been about control and not our students,” the Minister is quoted as writing. From a letter dated April 8th that was posted for several days on the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division website, Board Chair Darlene Rowden wrote: “ ‘Class size and composition/complexity’ language was introduced into collective bargaining in B.C. in 1980s and 1990s and it quickly became a restrictive and high cost ‘cap and quota’ system…families are impacted when their child or children are required to go to a different school than planned because a class is considered full… these types of restrictions would be really challenging…for rural/remote school divisions where schools are few and far between.” A source who wishes to remain anonymous shared that Ms. Rowden took it a step further and drafted an email to school administrators telling them she did not support the teachers in their actions but fully supported the Sask. Party government position, and they should get back to bargaining with the government. A copy was forwarded to NDP Education Critic, Matt Love. Ms. Rowden is also the Sask. Party candidate for the Batoche provincial riding where the majority of Saskatchewan Rivers School Division schools are located. CUPE leaders, who have publicly supported teachers, have called out Ms. Rowden for a conflict of interest.

Teachers do not want to be at a point of having a continuation of job action. If teachers do not ratify the government’s offer, they will be telling everyone, that the items within the offer are not sufficiently addressing the needs that they have been talking about for a decade now. Through the Tell Them Tuesday platform, over 400,000 emails were sent, and phone calls were made to MLAs from parents, caregivers, students, and the public, and the government is being called upon to start listening to the voices of Saskatchewan saying that conditions in our schools are not sufficient.

“We need to ensure that we are working together in good faith with a real commitment to improving the experiences of students in all areas of the province,” Becotte said. “Teachers want to deliver that high-quality education to every child in Saskatchewan, but they need more support in order to make that a reality.”

Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wakaw Recorder