Negotiators for the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation will be sitting down with the provincial government’s bargaining team for the first time in weeks.

Teachers have staged rotating strikes, in their attempt to get the government to come back to the bargaining table.

Friday, the Sask Party Government gave new “marching orders” to the bargaining committee, although not what the teachers were hoping for.

The government is offering the teachers the same wage increase formula MLA’s get. That is a maximum of three percent per year based on the rate of inflation. Teachers had indicated they would be interested in discussing that set up, but teachers are more concerned about “class size” and “class complexity”. The Sask Party government has been steadfast in its refusal to bargain that at the provincial level, saying that issue is better handled by the elected school divisions. The teachers believe this should be handled at the provincial level.

The two sides are sitting down in Saskatoon today. The Saskatchewan Teachers Federation has suspended all job action, until these talks are concluded.