Achi news desk-
Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) president Samantha Becotte says she wasn’t surprised teachers voted against the province’s latest contract proposal.
When the results were released on Thursday evening it showed 90 per cent of teachers voting down the proposal with 92.2 per cent voting.
“To me this sends a very clear message that what the government had proposed in their final proposal was not enough, not enough in terms of protections around our working conditions and improvements to student learning conditions,” he said. Becotte during an interview with CTV Morning Live Saskatchewan on Friday morning.
He added that it was not enough in terms of compensation.
“I hope the government will receive that message and start taking the process seriously.”
Becotte is scheduled to hold a news conference at 10:30 Friday morning, you can watch that live on the video player at the top of this article.
Voting for STF members closed on Thursday at 6pm with the results being released publicly around 7:15pm
The province’s offer dubbed by the STF as the “Final Offer” included a salary spread of eight per cent over three years – three per cent each in years one and two and a two per cent increase in year three in the final year of the offer .
In terms of class size and composition, the most important issues for many teachers were not part of the proposal as the province said those issues were addressed in an agreement signed with school departments earlier in the spring.
“I was expecting ‘no’ from members that’s what we’ve been hearing constantly, but I also know we have 13,500 teachers and we don’t always hear from everyone so it’s a bit unsure before the vote what that silent portion of our members think,” said Becotte.
After results were released, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said he was disappointed to see the vast majority of teachers against the proposal.
“The best deal will be reached at the bargaining table, and both sides should immediately agree to return to the table and avoid any further sanctions that could jeopardize training time and important milestone events for Saskatchewan students,” Cockrill said. in an email statement.
Becotte said they want to go back to the bargaining table as soon as possible and as soon as the government has a new mandate.
The voter turnout of 92.2 percent shows how engaged teachers have been throughout the process, Becotte said.
“We had two town halls over the past week with over 7,000 members joining us in the evening for about an hour and a half. The members are engaged. They have been with us throughout the whole process and have been taking significant steps over the last four months and they want to see better public education in Saskatchewan.”
Teachers in the province have been without a contract since August 2023, with initial bargaining starting just under a year ago. In October teachers voted overwhelmingly in favor of taking action in their posts. That job action then began in January and included rotating one-day strikes, delayed supervision and extracurricular activities and “work to rule.”
More to come…
— With files by David Prisciak and Caitlin Brezinski.
