Teachers' federation says Sask. government billboards misleading

Government billboards claiming the average teacher's salary in Saskatchewan is $92,000 are providing "misinformation" and distracting from the bargaining process, says the head of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF).

"From a taxpayer perspective in this province, we're seeing wasted dollars going toward these frivolous ads that really aren't serving any purpose other than to undervalue the teachers in this province," STF president Samantha Becotte said.

She said there are many ways to calculate the average salary of a teacher in the province. Teachers starting out make about $60,000 and to get to the $92,000 mark, they would need multiple degrees and more than 10 years of experience. 

Becotte said she wants to see negotiation conversations happening at the table and not on billboards.

Teachers are currently engaged in collective bargaining with the province. The STF wasn't satisfied with the province's initial offer of a seven per cent salary increase over three years.

The current four-year agreement, which expires at the end of August, included a two per cent pay raise each year from 2020 to 2022. There was no pay increase for 2019.

Becotte said salary is not the only issue on the table.

Teachers want the government to address class sizes, special services and concerns over growing classroom violence.

NDP education critic Matt Love is a former teacher, has two degrees and said he "never made" $92,000. 

"How disappointing this is to see a government use taxpayer dollars to send a message that communicates that they don't care about all the hard work that teachers put in to take care of our children and youth in our school system," Love said. 

Charles Smith, a professor of political studies at Saint Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, said the last round of bargaining was also very contentious. 

"We know the teachers very much wanted to put classroom size on the agenda and the government refused to budge on that front. There was almost a strike," Smith said. 

He said this round of talks happening with the backdrop of upcoming byelections is a recipe for contentious labour relations. 

"It's taken the bargaining to the public and … I think the government feels it's vulnerable on the education file." 

Smith said the teachers are right to call out the government's tactics and fight for a good deal.  

"We know that education funding over the past decade has very much been flat or declined. We know that teachers are entering into this very important round of bargaining. There's a very real possibility there could be job action," he said. 

The Ministry of Education sent CBC a statement in response to an interview request and did not answer questions related to the billboards. It said the government's proposed seven per cent increase in wages over three years is a fair deal.