SASKATOON – The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation says it will resume bargaining for a new provincial collective agreement.
Friday morning, the STF said in a release it will not implement sanctions while negotiations are taking place.
The decision to resume bargaining, says the STF, is a result of ongoing discussions with government that have addressed teachers’ concerns regarding the accountability of funding to address class size and complexity.
“We have been assured that the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee has a new mandate to properly address all of the issues important to teachers. The Teachers’ Bargaining Committee believes this commitment by government is a positive step,” says STF President Samantha Becotte. “Teachers have maintained that accountability measures must accompany government funding in order to ensure resources go to support students and improve their learning experience. We are optimistic that this understanding represents a significant step forward in negotiations and brings a tentative agreement within reach.”
Negotiations with the GTBC are expected to resume Tuesday, April 16. The resumption of formal negotiations means job action by teachers will be suspended effective 11:59 p.m. today, Friday, April 12.
The STF had announced work to rule job action on April 5, saying teachers would restrict their hours of service to 15 minutes before the school day begins and 15 minutes after the school day end and remove all voluntary services provided from teachers, including noon-hour supervision.
