Sask. teachers declare bargaining impasse, work-to-rule begins Monday

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) will begin work-to-rule starting on Monday after rejecting binding arbitration with the province.

On June 5, the teachers’ bargaining committee declared an impasse in negotiations, according to an STF release.

“We have always agreed with what Minister Cockrill has stated many times – the best deals are negotiated at the table,” said STF president Samantha Becotte. “We finally experienced real negotiations in the meetings held in May and want to build on that progress.”

According to the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee (GTBC), the parties met with STF Wednesday to discuss a path forward to bring negotiations to a conclusion.

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“The GTBC proposed that the parties could jointly request binding arbitration. However, the STF has declined,” the province said in a release.

“Government is committed to getting a deal done to provide stability and predictability for students, families and the education sector,” Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. “Binding arbitration represents the best path to get that done. Our priority is to ensure that instructional time and important student activities are not affected any further.”

In a brief statement from STF Wednesday evening, they said “the STF has declared a bargaining impasse. Sanctions will be implemented. More details to follow.”

Earlier in the year, STF offered the provincial government binding arbitration as a way to end job sanctions at the time.

A contract was voted on by STF members last week, which was voted 55 per cent against by members.

The sides have been at odds, with the STF calling for issues like classroom size and complexity to be addressed in a new agreement and the province saying those issues fall under school board jurisdiction.

Issues around underfunding for education have been a persistent topic in Saskatchewan, with both teachers and school boards saying the province’s funding has not kept up with inflation for several years now.

—More info to come.