Sask. education minister says all sides anxiously awaiting results from binding arbitration hearing with teachers

Saskatchewan Education Minister Everett Hindley on teacher/staff appreciation week, ongoing negotiations with the STF and Saskatoon laying off E.A.s

Saskatchewan’s education minister says they continue to play the waiting game when it comes to the release of details surrounding a binding deal with the province’s teachers.

During an interview with CTV Morning Live Thursday, Everett Hindley said all sides are anxious to hear the results of binding arbitration meetings that were held in December.

“I think all sides, that’s including the provincial government, are anxiously awaiting the decision of the arbitrator on the binding arbitration so that’s where it kind of sits right now and just awaiting his final report as he looks into it and provides a decision on what that looks like going forward,” Hindley said.

Hindley added that he feels it will be important for all to have a final and binding deal in place after months of intermittent job action and failed negotiations.

“I think that’s important for all of us in the government, teachers and the STF (Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation) and I think just for parents seeking some clarity on what that looks like going forward as we continue to build upon a great education system and that’s going to be the foundation of that,” Hindley said.

The binding arbitration hearings between provincial and STF representatives were scheduled to be held Dec. 16 to 20 in Saskatoon. According to the STF, the hearing concluded just after 6 p.m. on Dec. 18.

The two parties agreed to binding arbitration in June 2024.

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Initial bargaining between the two sides began in May of 2023. Talks quickly stalled over salary and the province’s resistance to address classroom size and complexities directly at the bargaining table.

The agreement to binding arbitration came after heated disputes, protests and a series of full-scale and rotating job action and one day strikes, along with the rejection of multiple contract offers from the government’s bargaining committee in May of 2024.

In binding arbitration, a neutral third party joins negotiations and listens to proposals from both sides before making a decision on the best path forward — which the two parties must accept.

With files from Rory MacLean