The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Last week's one-day strike by teachers in Creighton and across Saskatchewan could be a sign of longer work stoppages to come. Saskatchewan teachers walked off the job last Thursday, with more than 2,000 of them attending a rally at the legislature in Regina, according to the Canadian Press. "We really want to cause as little disruption as possible, but it's an important statement we're making and we want to make sure that the government hears it," Steven Allen, president of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation, told the Regina Leader-Post. Saskatchewan teachers have been working without a contract since August 2010. They are seeking a 12 per cent raise in one year, while the province has offered 5.5 per cent over three years. Teachers have already voted 95 per cent in favour of an all-out strike if necessary to achieve their contractual goals. The union continues to be highly critical of the province. See 'We...' on pg. 6 Continued on pg. 6 "We want real negotiations. We don't want somebody coming in with a set agenda saying, 'This is the maximum,' or, 'This is where we're at,'" Allen told the Leader-Post. "We know what teachers want; teachers have told us all the way through it. Don't bring us an offer we're going to reject." In a letter sent to media outlets on Thursday, Sandi Urban-Hall, spokesperson for the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee, said teachers received a "fair, reasonable and competitive offer." If ratified, the contract would make Saskatchewan teachers the second highest-paid in the western provinces, she said. "So we were very disappointed that instead of remaining at the bargaining table, the union walked away after demanding a 12 per cent increase in one year and has now launched strike action," wrote Urban-Hall. "The bargaining committee has completed a comprehensive analysis of compensation in other jurisdictions, as well the supply of and demand for teachers in Saskatchewan. The results show that our teachers are being offered a fair and competitive deal and that there is no shortage of teachers in Saskatchewan." Urban-Hall added that the average 2009 starting salary for a teacher with a four-year degree in the western provinces is $47,635. Under the government's offer, that teacher would earn more than $49,000 in Saskatchewan by the end of the agreement. "As it stands today, a comparable teacher in Saskatchewan earns $46,419, which is $1,000 more than the average of Canadian provinces," she said.9/5/11
