Teachers union, N.W.T. gov't reach swift tentative agreement

The association representing around 500 Northwest Territories teachers has reached a tentative agreement with the territorial government on a new collective agreement, following a relatively brief period of negotiations.

The N.W.T. Teachers Association announced its swift progress in a news release Tuesday.

Most of the 488 teachers work at schools outside of Yellowknife, though some of them work at É​cole Allain St. Cyr in Yellowknife.

When negotiations began in early May, the association said a major issue for teachers was workload.

• N.W.T. teachers union says workloads a top priority for upcoming contract negotiations

Gayla Meredith, the president of the association, said no details of an agreement will be released until teachers vote in favour of ratifying it.

But in a follow-up proposal the government gave the association on Sunday, the government said it was willing to offer the following things to address teachers' concerns:

• 3 days to allow teachers time to complete student assessments and report cards  
• 1 extra discretionary day  
• a half-day community holiday
• casual leave for appointments  
• formalizing leaves of absence  
• agreeing to continue discussions on providing additional embedded teacher professional development and in-service opportunities

The government has said it cannot afford to raise salaries for the first two years of the agreement, though it's not clear yet if the final agreement will last for four years or less.

• N.W.T. gov't downbeat on 'monetary increases' for teachers