The Manitoba Teachers' Society (MTS) is calling it a historic breakthrough.
After two years of what it considers intense negotiations aimed at amalgamating the 37 teacher collective agreements under provincial jurisdictions, the MTS Table Team says it achieved a historic breakthrough on Thursday of last week, at the anglophone bargaining table.
This follows the implementation of Bill 45 - The Public Schools Amendment and Manitoba Teachers' Society Amendment Act, which mandated a shift to provincial bargaining for public school teachers. This marks the first collective agreement negotiated under the new legislative framework.
According to a statement provided to PembinaValleyOnline, the agreement includes a 12.25 per cent salary increase over four years, and "is the best salary adjustment over a four-year period that teachers have bargained in over 30 years."
"This agreement represents a significant step forward for Manitoba teachers and the public education system as a whole," says MTS President Nathan Martindale. "It sets a precedent for collaborative negotiation and ensures a fair and unified approach to addressing educators' needs across the province."
Martindale noted, "Although the agreement does not completely compensate for inflation, whenever inflation runs high like it did in 2022 at 7.9%, it often takes more than one agreement to recover from that. In the 1980s, when inflation was high, it took teachers 33 years, until 2016, to regain their previous purchasing power."
The proposed agreement also includes work-life balance improvements.
"More than half of the province's teachers will benefit from increased preparation time in the fourth year of the agreement, enabling them to effectively meet their many responsibilities within the school day," indicated Martindale in the statement.
The tentative agreement, endorsed by the table team, impacts 16,000 public school educators, working at English school divisions, throughout Manitoba. Negotiations are ongoing for addendums specific to Frontier School Division, Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, and the School District of Mystery Lake.
Meanwhile, negotiations continue separately for educators under the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine (DSFM).
The bargaining table team is recommending the agreement, which will now be put to a vote by MTS members. Online voting will take place from August 1st to 7th.