Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Feb 07/00) - Ratification of a contract by teachers outside of Yellowknife has been hailed as a first step toward addressing educational needs throughout the NWT.

Teachers voted 82 per cent in favour of accepting a new two-year collective agreement from the GNWT. The ratification vote was held Jan. 31, ending a long dispute that resulted in a work-to-rule campaign and rotating strikes.

Highlights of the new contract include a 6.25 per cent raise over two years, and an increased professional allowance.

The agreement was one of two reached between the parties to resolve their outstanding issues. A memorandum of settlement was also signed with NWT Premier Stephen Kakfwi in which a commitment was made to deal with student/teacher ratios and student support services.

"I am very pleased the membership has accepted the agreement," said NWT Teachers' Association president Pat Thomas.

"This ratification is one part of the process. We will now work with Education, Culture and Employment on the amendments to the Education Act which will be tabled this month."

Aklavik District Education Authority chairperson, William Storr, called the agreement "a good first step," but he still believes the government is not committing enough funds to education.

"Overall, there needs to be more money put into education. We have to invest more because it's our future we're talking about," said Storr.

"We don't have enough teachers to go around and that's always going to be a problem. We need more of a commitment because if the children are educated properly from the beginning, then when they graduate they'll be employable and they'll create jobs for the Northern economy."