SASKATOON - Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation has formally offered to agree to binding arbitration to address the contentious issues of class size and complexity in their ongoing labour dispute.
Class size and complexity has been a major stumbling block in the labour dispute, with both sides disagreeing on the issue of whether that language should be in the collective agreement.
According to their news release, STF says if the province agrees to binding arbitration on that issue, then teachers will immediately suspend job action and negotiations will proceed on the remaining items on the table for a new collective bargaining agreement.
STF also states a tentative agreement could be brought forward to STF members for a vote while awaiting the arbitrator’s decision on class size and complexity. The arbitrator’s decision would then be added into the agreement.
STF is also pointing to the government agreeing prior to March 17, due to looming important extracurricular events including Hoopla next week.
“We are putting forward a fair, objective and neutral path to resolve this single-issue dispute. If government agrees to binding arbitration for class size and complexity, we will return to negotiations and all extracurricular activities, including Hoopla, band festivals, trips and graduation celebrations, can proceed,” said Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Samantha Becotte in a statement.
“To put this in clear terms: if government refuses binding arbitration, then Minister Cockrill and Premier Moe are choosing to cancel school trips, graduation planning, band festivals, Hoopla and so many more of this year’s activities that bring joy to our students and school communities.”
This STF offer of binding arbitration is also one that opposition New Democrats have proposed this week to try and end the dispute, with Education Critic Matt Love making that proposal in the legislature Thursday.
"We need to get a deal done that addresses class size and complexity to put this to bed. So here’s an idea: why won’t that minister get out of the way and send this issue to arbitration so there can finally be a resolution?" said Love, according to Hansard.
Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill responded he had "been very clear in previous instances that there is no reason to go to binding arbitration. The fact that we’ve only had half an hour at the bargaining table with the STF leadership over the last five months, that’s not acceptable, Mr. Speaker."
Government says no
In speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon, Premier Scott Moe made clear the province was not interested in the binding arbitration proposal from STF.
"No, and particularly not after 30 minutes of bargaining in the last five months," said Moe.
Premier Moe said the option he thought was in the best interest of everyone was "for STF to return to that bargaining table. We respectfully would ask them to return to that bargaining table again. We've made the commitment with school divisions that the funding is going to be there, and that is how the funding has always flowed, and will continue to flow... We're not going to remove the local decision making autonomy that school divisions have in applying and allocating those dollars in a way that they see fit in their classrooms, in their schools and in their communities, and hand that over to one provincial entity, the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation."
"... So binding arbitration is not a consideration that the government's looking at at this point in time. What we would like, and would ask, is that STF return to the table. Let's find a resolution to this."
