Saskatchewan
Teachers in several parts of Saskatchewan are set to take part in rotating strikes on Wednesday as the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) ramps up pressure on stalled contract negotiations with the province.
4th Saskatchewan Teachers Federation job action in 1 month as contract impasse continues
Alexander Quon · CBC News
· Posted: Feb 07, 2024 6:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours ago
The union representing Saskatchewan teachers says it does not agree with the provincial government on issues like salary increases, class sizes and supports for students with complex needs. (Alexander Quon/CBC)Teachers in several parts of Saskatchewan are set to take part in rotating strikes on Wednesday as the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) ramps up pressure on stalled contract negotiations with the province.
The following teachers’ local associations will be walking out of work on Wednesday:
Creighton Teachers’ Association, including Creighton School Division. Northern Area Teachers’ Association, including Northern Lights School Division. Prairie Spirit School Division, including Prairie Spirit School Division. Saskatoon Teachers’ Association, including Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and Saskatoon Public Schools. The rotating strike also includes Conseil des écoles fransaskoises schools and Saskatchewan Distance Learning teachers.
The STF says teachers from those local associations will be protesting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST on Wednesday.
Teachers in Saskatchewan have been without a contract since August 2023. In October STF members voted overwhelmingly in favour of authorizing job actions after talks with the province broke down.
Wednesday’s rotating strikes comes after three earlier job actions in the last month, including two province-wide one-day walk outs and one full-day of rotating strikes last week.
Teachers across the province will also refuse voluntary supervision and extracurricular duties like leading clubs over lunchtime on Thursday, the STF said Monday.
WATCH| Saskatchewan Teachers Federation says members will refuse noon-hour duties Thursday:
Saskatchewan Teachers Federation says members will refuse noon-hour duties ThursdayOn Monday morning, the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation issued a 48-hour strike notice. This time, it was the withdrawal of voluntary services at schools. In addition to no lunchtime supervision, teachers won’t organize or lead noon-hour activities or clubs.
The STF and the provincial government have both accused the other side of stalling negotiations.
The federation says the province is refusing to bargain on class size and classroom complexity, while the government maintains that is an issue for school boards to deal with and should not be part of the new contract.
The province has pointed to salary proposals as being the true issue at play.
The STF wants a two per cent annual wage increase that will account for inflation, which means they want salaries tied to the Consumer Price Index.
On Tuesday, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said the proposal wasn’t reasonable and the index isn’t a part of the province’s other collective agreements.
He said the government is offering teachers a seven per-cent raise over three years.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexander Quon is a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan based in Regina. After working in Atlantic Canada for four years he’s happy to be back in his home province. He has previously worked with the CBC News investigative unit in Nova Scotia and Global News in Halifax. Alexander specializes in data-reporting, COVID-19 and municipal political coverage. He can be reached at: Alexander.Quon@cbc.ca.
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