The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says Saskatchewan teachers make nearly $500 per teaching day and every extra dollar granted in collective bargaining will come from a taxpayer usually making much less.“Teachers are already being paid well above the provincial average, with taxpayers topping up their pensions and health plans to boot,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Now, the teacher’s union is giving parents a headache because it wants to squeeze more money out of the provincial government.”According to the provincial government, the average teacher in Saskatchewan makes $92,000 a year, compared to $90,300 in the rest of Western Canada. The average Saskatchewanian earns about $61,000 per year.Schools in the province average 190 school days a year. This means teachers are earning $484 per day for each day they are at work, or about $60 an hour based on a typical eight-hour workday. Teacher salary and benefits made up 50% of total school division spending in 2021.The provincial government is currently offering the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation a 7% salary increase over three years. The STF also wants to negotiate on government spending on other issues, such as class sizes.“Teachers can’t have their cake and eat it too,” Haubrich said. “When half of school division budgets are spent paying teachers, it doesn’t leave room for much else.”The most recent teacher's collective bargaining agreement expired in August. In June, the province publicly offered the STF a 3% increase in 2023, with 2% increases in each of the next two years."Our government recognizes the important work of teachers in our province and the dedication they show to Saskatchewan students," then-Education Minister Dustin Duncan said. "Our offer ensures that wages and benefits for Saskatchewan teachers remain above the western Canadian average."In an interview with Western Standard, Haubrich said any increase only piles on top of substantial education spending.“In 2017, the government spent about $2.3 billion after inflation adjusted on education. And then last year, the government spent $2.8 billion. So it's been going up every single year. And you can bet that it's not going to be cheap,” Haubrich said.“The province is spending more money than it's ever spent in history on education and the union is still trying to press for more. In the end, all this money comes from taxpayers. And how much more money does the government want to squeeze out of them to get all these demands that they want?” he asked.Saskatchewan's Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee is comprised of representatives from the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association. A government press release in June said the committee was bargaining in "good faith" to reach a "fair deal that benefits teachers and students."In October, an STF press release declared talks had reached an "impasse." The union made ten proposals for negotiation on what it called "critical issues," including class size and complexity, violence in classrooms and actionable items that support Truth and Reconciliation. According to the STF, the government refused to bargain on nine of the ten teacher proposals.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says Saskatchewan teachers make nearly $500 per teaching day and every extra dollar granted in collective bargaining will come from a taxpayer usually making much less.“Teachers are already being paid well above the provincial average, with taxpayers topping up their pensions and health plans to boot,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Now, the teacher’s union is giving parents a headache because it wants to squeeze more money out of the provincial government.”According to the provincial government, the average teacher in Saskatchewan makes $92,000 a year, compared to $90,300 in the rest of Western Canada. The average Saskatchewanian earns about $61,000 per year.Schools in the province average 190 school days a year. This means teachers are earning $484 per day for each day they are at work, or about $60 an hour based on a typical eight-hour workday. Teacher salary and benefits made up 50% of total school division spending in 2021.The provincial government is currently offering the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation a 7% salary increase over three years. The STF also wants to negotiate on government spending on other issues, such as class sizes.“Teachers can’t have their cake and eat it too,” Haubrich said. “When half of school division budgets are spent paying teachers, it doesn’t leave room for much else.”The most recent teacher's collective bargaining agreement expired in August. In June, the province publicly offered the STF a 3% increase in 2023, with 2% increases in each of the next two years."Our government recognizes the important work of teachers in our province and the dedication they show to Saskatchewan students," then-Education Minister Dustin Duncan said. "Our offer ensures that wages and benefits for Saskatchewan teachers remain above the western Canadian average."In an interview with Western Standard, Haubrich said any increase only piles on top of substantial education spending.“In 2017, the government spent about $2.3 billion after inflation adjusted on education. And then last year, the government spent $2.8 billion. So it's been going up every single year. And you can bet that it's not going to be cheap,” Haubrich said.“The province is spending more money than it's ever spent in history on education and the union is still trying to press for more. In the end, all this money comes from taxpayers. And how much more money does the government want to squeeze out of them to get all these demands that they want?” he asked.Saskatchewan's Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee is comprised of representatives from the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association. A government press release in June said the committee was bargaining in "good faith" to reach a "fair deal that benefits teachers and students."In October, an STF press release declared talks had reached an "impasse." The union made ten proposals for negotiation on what it called "critical issues," including class size and complexity, violence in classrooms and actionable items that support Truth and Reconciliation. According to the STF, the government refused to bargain on nine of the ten teacher proposals.