Sask. teachers hold job sanctions vote after contract negotiations reach stalemate

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation is holding a sanctions vote across the province this week to find a path forward after continued contract negotiation failures with the provincial government.

The federation announced last month that sanctions votes on Monday and Tuesday would take place after several days of conciliation negotiations with the provincial government had failed.

It’s a time where teachers are being asked to commit to the process,” Maze said. “We can talk about how important our students are and how important it is to have properly supported learning environments for our students, but this is a time where teachers will be asked, “Will you commit to doing some sort of a sanction?'”

Maze said those sanctions could cause the province to come back to the negotiating table for sticking points that have stalled talks thus far: class composition, compensation and extra resources to meet the needs of students.

The sanction vote could mean taking no action all as an approved vote allows the bargaining committee to put pressure on the province. Pressure could be applied in the form of job action that could nix extracurricular activities, declining overtime, rotating strikes or a complete walkout.

“Our preference would be not to have to engage in anything, and to be able to negotiate in good faith at the bargaining table,” Maze said, adding that the province forming a class size and composition committee forced the STF into holding the vote.

“We need to know that teachers are committed to this, and teachers need to have their say.”

The STF is looking for compensation increases of 2 per cent, 3 per cent and 3 per cent, over the life of the three-year agreement.

“It’s not just the leadership of the teachers’ federation that is telling government or telling the public what’s important. This is the chance for every teacher right across the province to have their say,” Maze said.

Ballots were sent from the STF to teachers across the province and will be returned by mail. Results from the vote aren’t expected until the end of the month. The delay in results is partly due to some teachers being in remote locations where mail takes longer to be delivered.

All ballots are being sent from teachers to an independent auditor to confirm the results.

The STF and the province have been negotiating for nearly 10 months but have failed to come to an agreement.