NUNAVUT
Negotiations between the territory's teachers and the government are bogged down with wages and benefits the sticking point.

Nunavut Teachers' Association president Robin Langill said negotiations between his union and the territorial government are bogged down with wages and benefits the sticking point. - Jeanne Gagnon/NNSL photo

Nunavut's 740 teachers from kindergarten to Grade 12 have been without a contract since June 30, 2009. But the 16-month negotiations for a new collective agreement between the Nunavut Teachers' Association and the territorial government are at a standstill.

The opening monetary proposal clearly indicates the employer is looking for a wage freeze and rollbacks of benefits, said Robin Langill, president of the Nunavut Teachers' Association.

The territory is proposing a zero wage increase for the four years of the agreement - July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2013, according to information provided by teachers' association.

"The employer's bargaining team was asked directly 'is the zero, zero, zero going to remain on the table.' And the answer was 'yes.' They would not remove it," Langill said. "It was not something that was unexpected. The thing that was, I would say shocking, is the rollback on the Inuit language allowance."

Overall, 225 teachers, almost all Inuit, receive a language allowance benefit ranging from $1,200 to $5,000 per year, representing $880,000 annually in total. If a bilingual teacher is not required to use one of the languages when teaching, they would no longer qualify for the allowance under the proposal, he said.

"There is no possibility our membership is going to be happy with this. Yes, I am insulted and I think the Government of Nunavut and the people on the negotiating team should feel ashamed of the way they are demonstrating how much they value teachers - which is zero."

Return to the table

Nunavut's Minister of Education Hunter Tootoo said he would like to see the teachers return to the negotiating table.

"My understanding is the government is willing to sit down and negotiate. I would encourage the NTA to do the same. By sitting down and negotiating, maybe we will come up (with) something that is mutually acceptable for both parties," he said. "As far as details within each sides' proposal, I think that's something that belongs at the bargaining table and not bargaining through the press."

Daniel Shewchuk, the territory's minister of human resources and lead minister in the negotiation, echoed a similar sentiment. He added he will not discuss the contents of the offer as he does not want to jeopardize the ongoing negotiations.

"In the best interest of everybody and to our teachers that we value very very highly, both parties return to the table and continue negotiations," he said. "I have every confidence that there's going to be a fair and equitable resolution to this whole negotiation."

What teachers want, said Langill, is voluntary binding arbitration. He added the teachers' association is not interested in a strike but he would not speculate if they would go that far, as he said it's up to the members to decide.

"We would like to avoid any kind of job action. Teachers are not interested in abandoning their students," he said. "What we're proposing to the government is that they agree to voluntary binding interest arbitration that would avoid the government imposing terms and conditions of employment and would avoid teachers being in a position to take job action."

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