Released on May 26, 2011
Government Prepared to Offer More, But $320 Million is Not Sustainable
Education Minister Donna Harpauer today said the provincial government is prepared to bring additional resources to the table to settle the current dispute with teachers, but the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation's (STF's) current demand for $320 million in wage increases is unsustainable.
"The STF's current demand of 16.3 per cent amounts to about $320 million over three years," Harpauer said. "That is unsustainable and Saskatchewan taxpayers' simply can't afford that kind of an increase."
Harpauer said the government's most recent offer is worth more than $100 million over three years and that the government is prepared to bring additional resources to the bargaining table.
"Our current offer of more than $100 million over three years would make Saskatchewan teachers among the highest paid in Canada," Harpauer said. "Once again, I am asking teachers to return to the classroom and the teachers' union to return to the bargaining table. The government is prepared to be flexible to obtain a negotiated settlement, but $320 million is simply unrealistic. Both sides will have to move and that can only happen at the bargaining table."
Yesterday, the Government Trustee Bargaining Committee (GTBC) contacted the STF to propose that bargaining resume as early as today.
Harpauer also repeated her call for the STF to ensure that any further job action does not jeopardize final exams and the end of the school year.
"Our highest priority is the students and making sure they are able to complete the school year," Harpauer said. "Students and parents deserve that assurance and I am asking the STF to provide that assurance."
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For more information, contact:
Kathy Young
Executive Council
Regina
Phone: 306-787-0425
Email: kathy.young@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-526-8927