Sask. teachers call for a referee to end contract stalemate, province not interested

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) is calling for binding arbitration to put an end to its five-month stalemate with the government.

In a news release Thursday, the federation said teachers were prepared to immediately suspend job action and proceed with negotiations if the provincial government will agree to the process — which requires the two sides to make their case to a neutral third party who decides that both are bound to comply with.

Federation President Samantha Becotte said if the premier and minister of education don’t agree to this measure — the repercussions are on their hands.

“To put this in clear terms: if the government refuses binding arbitration, then Minister [Jeremy] Cockrill and Premier [Scott] 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.”

The Education Act previously had an option for binding arbitration if requested by one party, but in 2017 the government removed the provision.

If both parties agree, it’s still an option, says STF.

The teachers’ union is pushing for the government to sign on by March 17, otherwise, it says sanctions will increase — and upcoming events like Hoopla would be affected.

Given the approach of the provincial government in negotiations thus far, binding arbitration would represent a major strategic turn.

On Tuesday, CTV News spoke with labour lawyer Steven Seiferling who said the last thing the government wants is to have its hands tied by any agreement with teeth.

"Anything you put into a collective agreement as an employer is something that you're giving away the right to manage," Seiferling said.

In a bid to take negotiations from the bargaining table to the public square last week, Moe released the education portion of the upcoming provincial budget two weeks early. He says the budget represents an additional $180 million in education spending, or about a nine per cent increase.

Two days later, the province struck a four-year deal with the Saskatchewan School Boards Association with $356.6 million in funding for the 2024-25 fiscal year until 2027-28 to address classroom complexities. The figure represents a $45.6 million increase last year's budget.

With those announcements, the government appears to be trying to make the case that it’s already acting on teachers’ demands, while still refusing to offer teachers any say in their classroom working conditions.

Becotte says teachers are ready to let a third-party decide the best path if the minister of education is.

“We’re asking Minister Cockrill to agree so that we can reach resolution,” said Becotte. “Every day the Minister delays his decision means students are missing out on more activities, lost deposits and the cancellation of events.”

Cockrill told reporters in the legislature on Tuesday that he wasn't interested in agreeing to the third-party referee.

"I don't think we're at the point where binding arbitration would be appropriate," he said.

"Binding arbitration would deal with items in the provincial collectively bargained agreement. We've been clear that these issues — class size and complexity — are not issues related to the CBA."

Cockrill said the government has an offer on the table addressing "several other asks" from the STF, but he felt they haven't had an adequate opportunity to discuss them.

In response to Cockrill's statement, Becotte told reporters that teachers need the ability to hold government accountable for its commitments and "not have a get-out clause."

-With files from Keenan Sorokan