It seems like a never ending saga with the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation. For months there have been negotiations and substantial offers yet no agreement. Not only have wages been an issue, but a plethora of other requests and benefits too with many of those having been addressed. So why no end?
Average teacher salary is $92,000 not including pension and benefits. Almost 1.5 times higher than the provincial average listed at payscale.com. An 8% offer brings it to $100,000 – a wage more typical of an executive director. The complaint has been “funding has not kept up with inflation”. The broad statement is true almost everywhere. For most, salary increases have been zero year after year.
With binding arbitration rejected by the STF, we hear a constant barrage of radio ads saying “invest in our future” – teachers and parents are fighting on the same side. One Saskatoon radio station played the ad at least 4 times per hour throughout the work day. A minimum of $22,400 for 8 hours on one station that one day alone. The STF is likely spending at least $100,000 per day for a few stations not including the ad’s original production cost.
Primary cost of any business will always be wages and education is no exception. Salaries on par with executive directors and rejected increases of 8% make it difficult to see sustainability. So is education really underfunded? Perhaps salary expenditures have just become unsustainable. Why else would binding arbitration be rejected and hundreds of thousands of dollars a day be spent on propaganda when it could be used to invest in our future?