UPDATE ON SASKATCHEWAN TEACHER BARGAINING

The following joint statement was issued by the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation and the Government Trustee Bargaining Committee.

Representatives from the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) and the Government Trustee Bargaining Committee (GTBC) have reached a tentative Provincial Collective Bargaining Agreement.

"Teachers have demonstrated their ongoing commitment to Saskatchewan students and their professional conduct throughout this long collective bargaining process," said Gwen Dueck, chief spokesperson for the Teachers' Bargaining Committee. "The tentative agreement will now be presented to them for consideration through a ratification process."

"I want to commend both teams for their efforts in drafting this tentative collective agreement," said Sandi Urban-Hall, spokesperson for the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee. "The trustee members of the GTBC look forward to sharing the tentative collective agreement with the membership of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association for their information and consideration."

The tentative agreement is based on the recommendations contained in the Special Mediator's Report released on July 6, 2011.

Over the next several weeks, both parties will be consulting with their membership and implementing respective processes for ratification of a tentative agreement. It is anticipated that the ratification process will be completed by late September 2011.

At this time the STF and GTBC have agreed not to release further details of the tentative agreement.