Sask. teachers begin binding arbitration hearings with province Monday

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) begins binding arbitration with the province on Monday.

The two parties agreed to binding arbitration in June, putting an end to a protracted bargaining process that saw multiple rounds of labour action, including strikes and work-to-rule orders.

Arbitration runs from Dec. 16 to 20 in Saskatoon, with former University of Saskatchewan law professor Daniel Ish serving as arbitrator.

In binding arbitration, a neutral third party joins negotiations and listens to proposals from both sides before making a decision on the best path forward — which the two parties must accept.

“The panel will weigh the facts and rationale presented and the arbitrator’s decision will be delivered in the form of a legally binding written report, delivered after the process has been completed,” the STF said in a news release when the arbitration was announced.

Teachers have been negotiating with the government trustee bargaining committee since May 2023, but talks quickly ground to a halt over wages and the province’s resistance to address the issues of classroom size and complexity within the teachers’ collective agreement.

After a year of bitter disputes, protest, a series of full-scale and rotating job actions and the rejection of a second contract offer from the government bargaining committee in May, both sides agreed to commit to binding arbitration.