News

Today, more than 500 people gathered in Moose Jaw to call on local MLA Tim McLeod, Minister of Addictions and Mental Health and a Treasury Board member, to use his influence within government to change course and prioritize funding and services for public education.

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation launched a new campaign this week to draw attention to issues that the government is refusing to take responsibility for. Issues like crowded classrooms, a lack of access to the professional resources that students rely on, and year-over-year budget cuts. Issues that are harming student learning and making it increasingly difficult to be a teacher in Saskatchewan.

Instead of bargaining freely and fairly on the important issues teachers have brought to the table, the Government of Saskatchewan has decided to use taxpayers’ dollars for a misleading and ridiculous billboard campaign featured in locations across the province. “What a waste of time and money,” Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Samantha Becotte said. “They’ve proven once again they don’t really care about students and their learning environment and instead want to create division by suggesting teachers are the villains."

Members have been asking for improvements to parental leave purchases, and we heard you!

Pre-retirement upgrades are an important part of your STRP benefits. They help to increase your career-average pension with inflation so that your pension provides a more meaningful benefit when you retire. Currently, substitute teachers are not eligible for these upgrades even though they pay the same contribution rate as contract teachers.

The STRP currently offers an additional death benefit option for members who pass away prior to retirement with at least eight years of service. This additional benefit option, paid to dependent children or dependent parents, is rarely used and complicated to administer.

You would probably agree that the current STRP formula is a little tricky to understand.  That’s because it’s what we call an “integrated” formula – it  provides different benefits below and above a certain earnings level (called the YMPE) in order to align it with benefits that you earn in the Canada Pension Plan.