Ninety per cent of the teachers who voted have told the Saskatchewan government they will not accept the contract offer.
The Saskatchewan Teachers Federation also confirms that 92.2 per cent of its members voted in two days of voting, May 8-9.
In the lead-up to the vote, the Saskatchewan premier, Scott Moe suggested that school boards may consider extending the school year to make up for the time lost by students during the teachers’ job action.
The teachers’ union president countered by saying there has been more time lost to snow days in past years than to sanctions.
Saskatchewan’s 13,500 teachers have been without a contract since August last year and voted for job action in October which saw teachers marching in sub-zero temperatures in January this year.
The government’s contract offer included an eight per cent pay increase over 3 years with retroactive pay to September 2023. The union and the government have struggled over the negotiating period on class size and complexity issues.
The union is offering to return to the bargaining table on Monday, May 13, and is expected to host a news conference at 10:30 on Friday, May 10.