‘Something needs to change:’ Teachers strike again in Regina

Teachers in Regina braved the cold Monday for the latest in a series of rotating strikes.

They were demonstrating outside of the Saskatchewan Legislature in hopes of getting the province to take their demands seriously. Teachers previously took their demands to the Legislative Building on Jan. 16.

The sun was out but the winds were blowing strongly as the teachers picketed. The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) estimated there were 3,500 teachers at the event, with educators from both Regina school divisions on the picket line.

“It’s disappointing that we’re out here again. It would nice to just be back in the classroom doing what we do,” said teacher Kim Bergey.

As MLAs returned for the spring session, Bergey said she hopes that things will move closer to a deal.

The STF wants the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee to receive a mandate that would include stipulations for classroom size and complexity.

Bergey has been teaching for 23 years and has seen firsthand the issues the STF is negotiating over.

“I’ve been here long enough and I can see the difference from when I started until now,” Bergey said. “It’s a completely different environment in the classroom so something needs to change and that’s what we’re fighting for.”

Heather Saarela, another teacher, felt strongly encouraged by the day’s turnout.

“It’s awesome to be here with all of our fellow teachers,” she said. “The camaraderie and all of the honking is amazing. It really feels like we have a lot of support by everybody. It’s really really, great.”

Saarela said that in her 13 years as a teacher, she has seen issues like class size and complexity worsen.

“You can tell: There’s less support staff (and) there’s more kids in our schools (and) in our classrooms,” she said.

“I had 36 kids in my ELA class this year. We don’t feel like we can teach as effectively as we would have been able to or would be able to with more support. It’s really clear: More support equals better teachers.”

Some students from École Connaught Community School were invited by the NDP to the Legislature in the afternoon. Grade 8 student Lena Conway was there to show support for the teachers.

Conway has thought of becoming a teacher for quite a while, but she said witnessing the teachers having to march outside for their demands has given her second thoughts.

“It’s absolutely insane,” she said. “It’s not fair to them. It definitely changes my thoughts on being a teacher because I don’t want to have to go through that, I don’t want to have to put my students through that, and I think that it’s absolutely ridiculous what’s happening.”

Talks between the sides broke down Feb. 13, with both sides subsequently blaming the other for walking away from the table.

Teachers picketed at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building on Monday. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)

At a media event in Regina on Monday, Premier Scott Moe invited the teachers to return to the bargaining table.

He noted the government has moved “on a number of issues,” but then said that doesn’t include a salary demand by the teachers that the government said amounts to 23.5 per cent over the course of the deal.

Moe said Saskatchewan families already invest more in education than families in any other province in the country.

When it comes to classroom size and complexity, Moe said that also won’t be part of the bargaining process. He pointed to the government’s $300-million annual investment in supports for learning and the more than $53 million the province put up to address classroom size and complexity through other programs.

Those include a fund for teachers’ innovations and a pilot project to address disruptive behaviour in classrooms.

“If we listen and listen carefully over the next day or two, you’re going to see a continued commitment to that specific investment by the Government of Saskatchewan,” Moe said. “It is going to continue to flow through the divisions.

“We’re not going to take what is a locally elected school division decision and transition that decision-making ability to a provincial union.”

In a post on the STF social media channels, the union noted Saskatchewan is one of two provinces that has seen a decline in per-student funding since 2016-17.

“We have had a decade of cuts in education and a generation of kids who have seen diminishing supports year after year after year in their schools,” STF president Samantha Becotte said. “That’s not right for any kid across Saskatchewan.

“We want to make sure that every child has the ability to thrive in their pre-K to 12 education. But we can’t do it alone. Teachers have been filling the gaps for long enough and we need government’s help.”

Becotte said the teachers need to have “predictable and sustainable funding” from the government and school boards to address the issues.

The STF already has given notice of a one-day withdrawal of noon-hour supervision in a number of divisions on Tuesday, as well as a provincewide withdrawal of extracurricular activities scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Teachers at schools in the Chinook, Horizon, Northern Lights, Northwest, Prairie Spirit, Prairie Valley, Saskatchewan Rivers, Prince Albert Catholic and Sun West school divisions won’t be available for lunch-hour supervision Tuesday.