Sask. teachers headed back to bargaining but province insists class complexity not on the table

Teachers and the Saskatchewan government are scheduled tohead back to the bargaining table next week, but they still appear to be a long way from agreeing to a new contract.

Teachers in the provincehave been without a contract since August and a series of escalating job actions by teachers only came to a stop Wednesday evening after the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) was invited back to the bargaining table by the Ministry of Education, who saysthe provincial negotiators had a new mandate.

Butwhenthe STF and the provincial government meet in Saskatoon for two days of discussions next weekthey are likely to continue disagreeing on classroomsize and complexity.

"We have been very clear that we expect class complexity to be addressed and any agreement that does not include class complexity isnot sufficient from our perspective and from the perspective we've heard from teachers across the province," said STF president Samantha Becotteon Thursday.

Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill struck a very different tone.

"I've said before, we don't believe those conversations belong at the bargaining table. So it that's not part of the renewed mandate," he said.

LISTEN|Sask. Teachers Federation president weighs in on latest offer from government:

The Morning Edition - Sask6:54Sask. Teachers Federation president weighs in on latest offer from government

We talk with the head of the teachers' federation about the latest news. The government is offering more money. Is that enough to get teachers to stop talking about classroom size and complexity? Samantha Becotte is our guest.

This all comes despite the province appearing to offer an olive branch Wednesday by announcing a new salary proposal.

Cockrill said the province would offer an extension of the current salary offer 7 per cent over three years OR offer the same salary formula that MLA's receive. That means salary increases would betied to the consumer price index (CPI) a common measure of inflation from the previous year, with a zero per cent floor and three per cent ceiling annually.

In a video announcing the offer, Cockrill said it was a deal the STF has asked for.

TheSTFsays that it wants a two per cent annual wage increase for each year of the contract, plus salary provisionstied to CPI.

LISTEN|Sask. education minister says province offering teachers same pay increases as MLAs:

Sask. education minister says province offering teachers same pay increases as MLAs

8 months ago

Duration 0:56

In a video posted on social media Thursday afternoon, Saskatchewan Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said the province is now going to offer teachers the same salary formula that MLAs receive.

What thenumbers might looklike

According to a Salary Finance Report shared by the STF, the average annualsalary of teachers in the province during the2022/2023 school year was$88,526.

CBC has attempted to calculate how much each proposalwould increase those salaries, but their reliance on CPI make it difficult to be exact.

Under the province's latest proposal, ifteachers got the maximum of athree per cent annual increase using CPI, the average teacher would be earning $96,735 after three years. However, CPI is unpredicatable, so the increase could be much less.

Under the proposal floated by the STF a guaranteed two per cent per year increase plus CPI the average teacher would be earning $102,480 by year three if the CPI increase was the max of three per cent per year.

Under the province's initial proposal seven per cent over three years by the third year the average teacher's salary would have increased to $94,723.

But salary may not be the sticking point for the STF. On Thursday, Becotte said that if things fall apart at the bargaining table next week, job action could be revived with just 48 hours notice.