Saskatchewan teachers have rejected a tentative offer that would have seen them receive a 5.5 percent salary increase over four years.
The members of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation voted 73 percent against the deal, which also included a one percent lump sum payment over the first two years.
The government-trustee bargaining committee issued a statement saying the offer would have made the province’s teachers among the highest paid in Western Canada.
It noted that Alberta teachers recently agreed to no increase for three years followed by a two-percent hike in 2015 and one-time lump sum payment that year.
There are about 13,000 teachers in Saskatchewan.
The STF said teachers’ workload has been changed by changes to the Education Act, growing diversity and increasing class sizes.
“The teachers’ bargaining committee remains committed to the goal of achieving a mutually acceptable provincial collective bargaining agreement through direct negotiations,” said STF president Colin Keess.
The last contract expired Aug. 31.
