GN, teachers’ union reach tentative agreement

The Federation of Nunavut Teachers reached a tentative new collective agreement this week with the department of education and the Government of Nunavut’s financial management board.

In a joint press release on Tuesday, the GN and the FNT spoke in glowing terms about the latest offer.

The teachers’ contract expired June 30 and the two sides completed three rounds of negotiations before summer. The fourth round of negotiations ended late Monday evening.

The proposed three-year agreement would give teachers an approximate 9.54 per cent salary increase on an accumulated basis over the life of the agreement.

It would also increase the Nunavut Northern Allowance, though increases would vary depending on the teacher’s community of residence. It would enhance maternity and paternal leave benefits, the educational leadership program and acting duties allowance.

Lou Budgell, president of the FNT, said he and his negotiating team would recommend the union’s 630 members accept the offer.

“We firmly believe that this is a good agreement,” Budgell said in an interview.

The FNT is in the process of meeting with teachers and distributing an outline comparing the proposed agreement to the one that expired June 30.

Teachers will have about two weeks to review the information, and the date for a ratification vote has been tentatively set for Oct. 25.