STF says teachers across Sask. will withdraw extracurricular support Tues., Wed.

Teachers across Saskatchewan will withdraw their support for extracurriculars on Tuesday and Wednesday as their contract dispute with the province drags on.

According to the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, while its previous sanctions have been preceded by 48 hours’ notice, five days’ notice is being given in this case “to ensure that the Minister of Education has the opportunity to consider the implications of escalated job action due to withholding a renewed mandate to bargain.”

The union and government have been at an impasse in negotiations for months, with the union refusing to return to the table until Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill gives the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee a mandate to include stipulations on class size and classroom complexity – the number of students in each class who require additional help or supervision – in the new collective agreement.

Teachers are also seeking an annual salary increase of two per cent – plus the Consumer Price Index average annual rate – for four years. According to Cockrill, that adds up to a 23.5 per cent raise.

So far, sanctions have included single-day provincewide strikes, rotating strikes by teachers in certain divisions, and the withdrawal of lunch-hour supervision and support for extracurriculars.

Union president Samantha Becotte said Cockrill can end the sanctions any time he wants.

“This job action can be stopped immediately when government is ready to negotiate on all issues of importance to teachers, including class size and complexity,” Becotte said in a statement.

“With these items on the table, negotiations can come to a quick conclusion, resolving the longest teachers’ strike in the history of Saskatchewan.”

According to the union, the withdrawal of extracurricular support next week means teachers will not perform “voluntary services involved in the organization, supervision and facilitation of activities, including athletics, non-curricular arts, field trips, student travel and graduation preparations.”

The federation acknowledged that its sanctions will lead to frustrations for students and parents, but said its objective is to get a new mandate for the government’s committee and bring an end to the dispute.

“Teachers are taking action for one reason: Students,” Becotte said.

The union head also questioned why local school trustees aren’t offering their support.

“We’re trying to secure more funding for school divisions,” she said. “Yet, local school trustees are largely silent. Why aren’t locally elected trustees speaking out about how a lack of funding means they can’t meet the needs of their communities?”