Education minister calls for binding arbitration with Sask. teachers after latest proposal rejected

Saskatchewan's education minister is calling for binding arbitration with the province's teachers after a slim majority rejected a proposed deal in a vote this week.

Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said it's the necessary next step during a news conference on Friday morning.

It is a reversal of his position in March, when the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) called for binding arbitration and the province rejected it.

In 2017, the government amended The Education Act to remove binding arbitration as an option if it's requested by only one party. However, if both parties agree to it, it is available as an option.

STF president Samantha Becotte is set to speak with media later this morning.

On Thursday evening, the STF announced that 88 per cent of its members voted, with 55 per cent of those voters rejecting the latest collective agreement offer from the province.

According to an internal document sent to teachers before the vote and obtained by CBC News, the proposed contract covered a three-year term from Sept. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2026.

It included promises of a task force on classroom complexity, to be co-chaired by the STF, the Ministry of Education and Saskatchewan School Board Association, and include teachers, students and parents.

There was no mention of class size, a central issue in the teachers' messaging during the ongoing contract dispute, in the internal document provided to teachers.

Becotte told CBC in an interview last week that she considers class size a part of class complexity, but conceded there was nothing concrete about size in the proposed agreement.

According to a news release from the STF, the offer included salary increases of three per cent in the first two years and two per cent in the final year.

The document sent to teachers also highlighted a "one per cent [of the base salary costs] market adjustment that will be equally distributed across all [teacher] increment grids and calculated after the three per cent raise, retroactive to September 1, 2023. This is in addition to the salary increase of eight per cent over the three years of the agreement."

It also referenced a letter of understanding with the province regarding "violence-free classrooms," including a reporting mechanism for incidents.