As the second one-day Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) strike got underway on Jan. 22, MooseJawToday.com requested comment from the Ministry of Education, which reissued an earlier emailed statement with little modification.
The Ministry of Education response was similar to the emailed statement received in response to MooseJawToday.com's earlier story announcing the second strike action:
"The Government of Saskatchewan is disappointed with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) most recent announcement on job action.
"The Government Trustee Bargaining Committee has put forward a fair deal for teachers with a 7 per cent raise over three years, ensuring Saskatchewan teachers remain paid above the Western Canadian Average. The GTBC remains at the table, ready to discuss competitive salary and benefits but cannot negotiate without the STF at the table as well.
"Outside of the collective bargaining process, the Government of Saskatchewan have said we are actively working to address concerns around class size and complexity and we are doing exactly what we said we would with a $53.1 million investment towards enrolment and complexity, a teacher-led innovation and support fund, and specialized support classroom pilot projects."There are 21 tables actively negotiating and it is our hope that the STF will come back to the table and be one of them."
