Teachers union should respect conciliation

The province has put forth a fair and reasonable offer, Gordon Wyant writes.

Our government values the work that teachers do.

The government trustee bargaining committee (GTBC) has put forward a fair and reasonable offer. In addition to the one per cent salary increase on the last day of the previous contract, this offer includes a $1,500 payment for teachers in Year 1 and a two per cent salary increase in each of the next two years of the agreement.

This offer balances our appreciation and respect for teachers with the responsible fiscal management that taxpayers expect and other unions have accepted. At a time when other jurisdictions are seeing a reduction in the number of teachers and no increase to salaries, this offer provides stability for the profession and ensures our teachers continue to be paid above the western Canadian average.

In response to the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation’s (STF) request that class size and composition be included in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), a committee has been struck to provide a path forward. It is unfortunate that the STF has refused to participate in this important process, but the invitation to participate and represent its membership remains open.

While we share the same concerns as the STF that class size and composition is an issue, we believe that it is a matter best addressed locally by democratically elected boards of education; we have seen the negative consequences of including this issue in a CBA in other provinces and will not replicate those mistakes in our province.

During the last collective bargaining process, the STF also sought to bargain over class size and composition. It was the STF who walked away from the bargaining table and applied for binding arbitration which resulted in zero per cent increase for salaries and a denial by the arbitration board for any consideration of the class size and composition in the CBA.

During the current collective bargaining process, it was the STF who once again walked away from the table after 10 meetings and applied for conciliation. We entered that process in good faith and felt that progress was made on a number of items. It is disappointing that the STF is considering the idea of a strike before the conciliation process they requested is even completed.

We look forward to receiving the results of the conciliation report and would encourage the STF to respect the process.

I know that teachers do not want to strike and parents do not want teachers to strike. Our students need our teachers in the classroom.