Results of teacher contract vote to be made public Thursday night: STF

Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation president Samantha Becotte says the results of an online vote on a provincial contract offer will be made public Thursday night.

She said 13,000 teachers, including substitutes and those on approved leave, have been sent an email on the voting procedures.

“Members would have received an email earlier this week with a link and a PIN,” she explained.

Two town halls were also held in the past week, Becotte said, with 7,000 federation members in attendance.

Voting closes at 6 p.m. on Thursday, and the federation said more than 45 per cent of its members cast their votes within the first two hours of voting. The federation said the results will be shared on Thursday evening, and Becotte is expected to comment on the results during a virtual news conference on Friday at 10:30 a.m.

“Some people offered their opinion and their position, and we saw that in the chat of the meetings and through questions. And we’re seeing it on social media as well,” she said.

The government’s offer includes an eight per cent wage increase over a three-year contract, along with an “accountability framework” holding the government to its commitments on increased funding for classroom supports.

If the contract offer isn’t accepted, Becotte said the plan is to invite the provincial bargaining committee back to the table to continue negotiations.

If the offer is accepted, she said it doesn’t necessarily mean all of the issues teachers want addressed will be fixed in one agreement.

“The work is going to need to continue, to fight for improvements for public education,” Becotte said.

Earlier this week, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said he believes the offer to teachers is  fair, and said he hopes the vote results will provide some stability and predictability for the rest of the school year.

Cockrill has also mentioned a possible extension to the school year, but Becotte said that’s not something she’s going to dwell on.

“We’ve had previous years where we’ve had more snow days than we’ve had sanction days this year. To me, I think it is government’s attempt to influence teachers in their vote,” she said.

Becotte said the federation’s sanctions – which have included single-day and rotating strikes – would not have been necessary if contract negotiations had progressed the way the union had hoped.

She added that the province should be concentrating on classroom support, not making threats to extend the school year.