Sask. teachers win fight over class complexity in binding arbitration

Saskatchewan Teachers Federation President on winning class complexity fight in binding arbitration

After multiple rounds of bitter negotiations and job action that ended in binding arbitration, Saskatchewan teachers appear to have won their fight with the province over class complexity.

In a news release on Tuesday morning, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) announced the arbitration board has ruled that class complexity will be included as an article in the new collective bargaining agreement.

“The collective efforts of so many people throughout the province brought attention to the issues facing Saskatchewan students. This is a hard-won first step to ensure these critical issues will be addressed,” STF President Samantha Becotte said in the news release.

The two parties will now return to the bargaining table to agree on language for the class complexity provisions, the STF says. If they can’t agree, the matter will be settled back at the arbitration board.

In an email to CTV News, Education Minister Everett Hindley said the results of the arbitration ruling were “largely in line with what was offered in the previous tentative agreement.”

“We are looking forward to getting the agreement ratified and moving forward to working on common goals that create the best possible learning environment for Saskatchewan students, such as improving K-3 literacy in Saskatchewan schools,” Hindley said in the statement.

The issues of class size and complexity were key points of contention throughout the extended negotiations, with the province obstinately refusing to include terms within the language of its contract with teachers.

Teachers entered binding arbitration with the province in December after teachers voted against two different tentative offers, following multiple rounds of rotating strikes and other job actions.

The STF says every teacher organization in Canada — except for Alberta and Saskatchewan — contain clauses directly addressing class size, composition, and violence-free work environments.

In an interview with CTV News on Tuesday, Becotte said the decision marks the resolution of a conflict that started long before this current series of negotiations.

“For ten years, teachers have brought forward proposals to address the challenges that they experience in schools and classrooms,” she said.

“Throughout those ten years, the government trustee bargaining committee have refused to engage in the process, as it was argued that items related to classroom complexity were not a required item for provincial negotiations.”

According to the teachers’ federation, the collective agreement will include a $20 million per year class complexity fund, in addition to all other provincial funding.

As for any potential specifics that could be included in the agreement, Becotte told CTV News it could lead to more teachers being hired.

“The article that will be included, it does contain language around additional teachers within schools that will provide support for unique student needs and students requiring additional supports,” she said.

Becotte said the article could also include class complexity support for some smaller and rural schools.

As for wages, teachers were awarded a nine per cent salary increase over three years — four per cent retroactive to Sep. 1, 2023, three per cent retroactive to Sep. 1, 2024 and 2 per cent starting Sep. 1, 2025.

Becotte says the initial reaction from fellow teachers about the wage increase has been generally positive, while she understands a nine per cent pay bump may fall short of expectations.

“It doesn’t fully make teachers whole in comparison to where they were back in, say, 2017,” she said.

“We’re still falling behind where we were in terms of purchasing power.”

-With files from Keenan Sorokan