The Government of Saskatchewan has put a new offer on the table for teachers, prompting their union to suspend job action and bargain.The announcement was made by Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill in a video posted by Premier Moe to Twitter ("X")."We have authorized the government trustee bargaining committee to offer a new mandate to either negotiate an extension of the current salary offer or to negotiate a deal that would see teachers receive the same annual salary adjustments under the same salary formula that MLAs received," said Cockrill, the MLA for Battlefords. "And those salary adjustments would be based on the cost of living a compensation formula that includes a 3% ceiling and a 0% floor depending on the consumer price index for the previous year.""In the upcoming provincial budget, you will see further significant funding to improve classrooms across the province. This funding will be provided to school divisions and how it is spent in classrooms will be decided by the local elected board members, not by the union." "Saskatchewan families value our education system and they invest more per capita than anywhere else in the nation. And that is why a fair deal for teachers must also be a fair deal for taxpayers. And we want to ensure that salary and benefits for teachers remain competitive into the future as they are today with Saskatchewan teachers earning above the Western Canadian average."The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation had previously indicated they would return to the table if a new offer was granted. In a press release, STF president Samantha Becotte said they were suspending job action and the two sides would meet on Monday, February 12 in Saskatoon.“We welcome the opportunity to return to the bargaining table to discuss teachers’ proposals and the important issues facing education in Saskatchewan,” said Becotte. “We are hopeful that the GTBC’s new mandate will allow for productive negotiations that will address the needs of students and teachers.”As a result, the scheduled provincewide withdrawal of noon-hour supervision planned for Thursday, February 8 was cancelled.“We are encouraged by this change in course,” Becotte said.“The solidarity of teachers and the outpouring of support from parents, students, businesses, churches and religious groups and the general public across the province have played a crucial role in helping bring government back to the table. These past weeks have made it clear that teachers are united and committed to students and public education. Should these negotiations fail, job action will resume.”
