The government and teachers will be heading back to the bargaining table on Monday in Saskatoon.
This came after the government gave new instructions to its negotiating team, but the Sask Party Government is not moving off its stance that “class size” and “class complexity” needs to be worked out at the school division level, not at the provincial bargaining table.
In a video posted through Premier Scott Moe’s account on the social media platform “X”, Education Minister Jeremy Cockerill made it clear that individual school divisions will decide how to spend government funding for those issues, not “the union”.
The Saskatchewan Teachers Federation have placed “class size” and “class complexity” at the top of the list of things they want to negotiate with the provincial government.
The new “mandate” given to government negotiators has to do with money. Teachers had indicated they would like a a wage increase formula to what MLA’s get. The increase is tied to the rate of inflation, and the maximum wage increase is 3 percent per year.
The two sides will meet in Saskatoon on Monday for a bargaining session, and teachers have said they will hold off on any job action until those talks wrap up.
The video from the Minister has come under criticism as well, as some of the stock images that show spacious classrooms actually have “U-S” Flags in them.
