Catholic school teachers see salary hike
New collective agreement includes chance to re-negotiate wages next year
Kirsten Fenn
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife Catholic Schools has signed a new four-year collective agreement to raise teacher salaries by one percent annually in the last two years of the agreement and give them a chance to re-open wage negotiations in 2018.
The agreement with the Northwest Territories Teachers' Association (NWTTA) was signed Monday and backdated to Sept. 1, 2016 and runs to Aug. 31, 2020.
"After two years we're going to meet again," said Janet Toner, assistant superintendent of business at the board, referring to the wage re-opener.
"Depending on the financial state of Yellowknife Catholic Schools, then we will see if there's any more that we can offer the teachers at that point in time."
Toner said the wage re-opener is "unique" to the Catholic district's agreement with the teachers' association and was recommended during negotiations.
She expected wages would be discussed again in fall 2018.
According to NWTTA president Fraser Oliver, teachers could ask to open wage negotiations if the board was given new money from the education department.
An arbiter would then have to rule on the issue, he said.
"For example, you might get two per cent in the third year," Oliver said, although he stressed there are a lot of "what ifs" at this point about whether any increase would happen.
The Catholic district has been without a collective agreement since last July, according to Toner.
Oliver said negotiations were positive despite taking some time to complete, as teachers rejected an initial proposal in November.
"During conciliation, an agreement was reached that was accepted by both negotiating teams and was passed by our membership and the board," he said.
Board superintendent Claudia Parker said at a school board meeting earlier this month about 79 per cent of members voted, with 87 per cent of those voting in favour.
The new agreement includes other benefits such as a one-time $200 signing bonus for teachers and an increase in allowances for department heads.
The Catholic board is increasing its professional development fund for teachers to take courses and will provide teachers an additional discretionary day.
Oliver explained discretionary days are most often used when teachers want to take time off for a wedding, funeral or other life event and need a substitute teacher for the day.
Teachers previously had two discretionary days but will now have three.
They are required to pay the cost of hiring a substitute teacher for the first two days while the school board will pay for the third.
Memorandums of understanding to review the benefit and pension plans, as well as to maintain a long-standing practice of early dismissals on Thursdays, are part of the deal.
The school board signed another memorandum of understanding earlier this year to reduce class time by up to 100 hours a year starting in the fall, following suit with other NWT schools.
It is part of a Strengthening Teacher Instructional Practices pilot program meant to improve teacher wellness and student outcomes by redirecting time for teacher development.
This is included in the new collective agreement.
Oliver described the pilot program as a positive move for teacher wellness and added it will help them better address student needs in the classroom.
Yellowknife Catholic Schools voted to ratify the new collective agreement at its June 14 board meeting.
