The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation declared the negotiations with the provincial government on a new collective agreement have once again reached an impasse, and job action will resume next week.  

The negotiations between the two sides resumed yesterday, as they met formally for the first time since teachers voted 55 percent against a tentative agreement that had been reached in May. The STF stated their bargaining committee had put forward several paths for continued negotiations, however, the government would only accept an agreement on binding arbitration.  

“We have always agreed with what Minister Cockrill has stated many times – the best deals are negotiated at the table,” said STF President Samantha Becotte in a written release. “We finally experienced real negotiations in the meetings held in May and want to build on that progress.” 

The STF had initially proposed binding arbitration in March, but that was rejected by the government at the time.  

The sanctions that will be imposed starting Monday will see teachers initiating a province-wide work-to-rule campaign. This will see teachers arriving at the school 15 minutes before the regularly scheduled start of the school day, and leaving 15 minutes after the school day ends. There will also be a complete withdrawal of all extracurricular activities and a withdrawal of all voluntary services outside the workday. This will include a complete withdrawal of noon-hour supervision services.