Premier defends offer ahead of teacher vote on contact proposal

Teachers are set to vote next week on a contract proposal from the provincial government, which could bring an end to the labour dispute between the province and the teachers’ union.

The Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee has touted it as a tentative agreement, and Premier Scott Moe called the offer on the table a fair one. But Samantha Becotte, president of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, said there wasn’t a lot of agreement at the bargaining table.

The offer is for a three-year contract with salary increases of three per cent in the first and second years, and a two per cent hike in the third year.

During an appearance on the Evan Bray Show on Monday, Becotte said there wasn’t exactly an agreement on what was proposed by the government, but after two days of talks the union’s provincial executives decided to take the offer to members for a vote.

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“An agreement means that two sides have come together and agreed on what is going to be put forward,” she said. “There was no good-faith bargaining, no real back-and-forth on any of the items that were brought forward.”

Although union representatives had the ability to reject the offer without a vote, Becotte said the federation is a democratic organization and the decision is ultimately in the hands of teachers. The union’s members are expected to vote on Wednesday and Thursday next week.

“Government has tried to say that union leadership is blocking teacher voice, and that teacher voice doesn’t have opportunities to participate,” she said.

Becotte said the 13,500 federation members across Saskatchewan need to have a clear understanding of the potential benefits and risks they will be voting on next week.

“We don’t want a snap decision on anything,” she said.

Premier says offer to teachers is fair

Premier Scott Moe defended the province’s offer on Monday.

“The provincial government has moved and moved many times through discussions – all too often publicly – with our teachers union on how we can arrive at a place that is supporting our teachers in the classroom and, ultimately, supporting our students and children,” the premier said.

Moe said there have been changes to some of the wording around classroom support included both in and out of the contract since the dispute began.

“The actual funding for classroom supports has increased significantly when you look at mid-year funding this past year, as well as the funding that was added in the most recent budget,” he said.

This year’s provincial budget included $3.3 billion in funding for education, with $2.2 billion in operating funding for Saskatchewan’s school divisions.

The budget also included $356.6 million for classroom support, an increase of $45.6 million from last year. Those funds are earmarked to address issues around class size and complexity, which have been sticking points for the federation throughout the contract dispute. That funding has been guaranteed over four years through an agreement between the province and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association.

“There’s a fair salary offer on the table that will ensure that teachers today are not only above the western Canadian average, but will continue to be above the western Canadian average for the duration of this contract,” Moe told reporters on Monday afternoon.

“It’s my sincere hope that teachers will vote for this contact, so that they are able to return to their classroom.”

Moe didn’t say if the offer on the table is the final offer from government.

Despite the sanctions implemented by teachers during the dispute, which have included strikes and the withdrawal of support for extracurriculars, Moe said graduation will go ahead for senior students. Because schools are public buildings, Moe said the province has reached out to school divisions to ensure they will be made available for students to celebrate graduation.