No raise for teachers this year, one per Cent next year
SASKATOON Saskatchewan teachers won’t be getting a raise this year and their salaries will only increase one per cent at the end of next summer, but that comes as a relief to those fearing the wage rollback proposed by the provincial government.
“While it’s not quite what we were looking for in salary, at the same point, it’s a lot better than government getting their pay cut,” Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Pat Maze said Friday.
In a decision handed down late Friday afternoon, almost nine months after contract talks broke down, a labour arbitrator awarded the province’s 13,500 teachers a new two-year contract that will expire on Aug. 31, 2019.
“There’s some positives,” Maze acknowledged before noting that the provincial government stuck to its proposed 3.67 per cent compensation cut “right to the last day of arbitration.” “That was a big frustration for us and a big stumbling block on why we were not able to come to a negotiated settlement at the table. There was never a reduction in that number.”
Those positives include the arbitrator siding with the STF on “teacher time” — how teachers are compensated for activities outside the classroom such as preparation and coaching sports — and the number of sick days teachers can take.
The financial implications of the decision aren’t known yet, as they are being calculated by the Ministry of Finance, said Shawn Davidson, president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association and spokesperson for the governmenttrustee bargaining committee.
The issue of assignable hours of work will have implications for all 27 school divisions, he said.
“We will be working hard over the coming months on definitions and implementation,” Davidson said.
The arbitrator rejected an STF proposal that would, according to the federation, have addressed class size and composition issues, leading Maze to suggest more work needs to be done on those fronts.
Saskatchewan’s 13,500 teachers have been without a contract since Aug. 31, 2017. Binding arbitration began early this year, after contract talks reportedly stalled over wages.
The province was reportedly unwilling to budge from its opening position that teachers take a 3.67 per cent wage decrease, find comparable savings through benefit reductions or accept a 3.5 per cent cut in total compensation.
Before arbitration began, teachers wanted a one per cent wage increase plus wage hikes in line with the consumer price index and non-monetary items such as clear language around duties and working hours.
Last week, four months after refusing to commit to fully fund a new contract, the provincial government changed course and said it would pay for whatever the arbitrator decided teachers should earn.
Finance Minister Donna Harpauer confirmed in an emailed statement that the government “is committed to fully funding the salary increases” in the new contract.
“We will manage costs, including any which may result from negotiated collective agreements, as part of the development of the next provincial budget.”
Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili said that while the deal is likely better than teachers would have received at the bargaining table, the wage increases won’t cover inflation.
“This is not a good deal for teachers,” he said.
While some in the education sector characterized the move as the bare minimum, the STF and others said they were pleased local school boards would not have to cover the remaining costs.
Relations between teachers and the government have been strained since March 2017, when former Premier Brad Wall axed $54 million from classrooms in his final budget before resigning his seat.