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The Northern Lights School Division, which covers most of the northern half of Saskatchewan, is in hot water with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF).
STF president Samantha Becotte said a letter and memorandum of understanding from the school division’s director of education, Jason Young, was sent to all teachers during the collective bargaining process.
Becotte wouldn’t reveal what was in the memorandum. She did, however, say it was inappropriate for the director to communicate directly with teachers while bargaining is ongoing.
“The director of education has, in our view, really been taking actions that have been abuse of their power and not respecting the processes of the local collective bargaining,” said Becotte.
The division and the Northern Area Teachers’ Association have been trying to come to an agreement on local benefits and working conditions since November of 2021.
Becotte said the collective bargaining process has now come to a stop, and the STF has placed the division “in dispute,” meaning the organization believes the employer has demonstrated a “significant disregard and lack of respect for employees and/or the collective bargaining process.”
The last time a division was placed “in dispute” was in 2002, and the process has been used just 14 times in the last 62 years.
Becotte said the STF is asking for an apology from the division, a declaration that it interfered in the bargaining process, and for the letter to teachers to be rescinded.
“We have had several conversations with the director and the school board trying to encourage them to rescind the letter, but unfortunately we’ve been unsuccessful in those requests,” she added.
If those actions aren’t taken, Becotte said there are other avenues the union can pursue, including legal action, but said that would be “really unfortunate.”
650 CKOM has requested an interview with the Northern Lights School Division, but no response was provided by publication time.