Labour prof lays out what could happen as province, teachers continue to fight

Frustration is mounting for many in Saskatchewan as the provincial government and teachers’ union continue their contract fight, and the question on the lips of many is “When will this end?”

Both sides are dug in, neither giving an inch at the moment. Teachers say they won’t go back to the table unless class size and complexity can be negotiated in their contract, while the government is refusing to even entertain the idea.

“The more acrimonious and the more high stakes the issue, if the parties aren’t agreeing, then what’s the point of coming back to the table? They’ve been at mediation, they’ve been through conciliation (and) they’ve had their conversation,” explained Dr. Andrew Stevens, an associate professor at the Hill School of Business at the University of Regina and the Unifor Research Scholar in Labour Relations.

On Wednesday, the province’s teachers have planned to go on a one-day strike. On Thursday and Friday, the teachers are planning to withdraw supervision for extracurriculars, leading some to despair that the provincial high school basketball championships won’t go ahead.

Other provinces have got to this kind of point with their teachers in recent years. Stevens pointed to Ontario and B.C. as examples, with B.C. teachers even going to court to have their government bargain around class size and complexity.

This kind of thing hasn’t recently happened to teachers in Saskatchewan, but Stevens said what’s unique and complex about this situation is that politics are at play.

“It’s a political issue and not necessarily a partisan issue, but you’re dealing with something that’s pretty high stakes,” said Stevens.

The road ahead, therefore, is not exactly clear. Stevens said the teachers’ union could escalate and keep pushing with its strikes and sanctions.

“Ultimately the STF’s objective is to increase the political pressure, especially going into an election year on the provincial government,” he explained.

Stevens believes parents are on the side of teachers, but he couldn’t say how that may or may not move if the teachers’ union continues putting on pressure.

“The question is: If people are frustrated, are they frustrated at the teachers or are they frustrated at the government and the Ministry of Education for allowing things to fester this long?” said Stevens.

He said the teachers could also tell the union leadership to step back and entertain the provincial government’s proposals.

On the other side of things, Stevens said if teachers go on a full strike, the government could also pass special legislation to force them back to work. But then, he said, questions of constitutionality and the courts could come into play.

“If they take a back-to-work approach, I think this problem will just escalate,” he said.

Stevens said it’s a political question and it depends on where the public directs its frustrations.

“Part of it actually goes down to the population and how much they want to see a deal reached, but more importantly, how much they want to see a deal reached that includes these different elements that help address what’s going on in our classrooms today,” said Stevens.

There is another option: A special mediator could be brought in. Stevens said the two sides could end up at the same place, but the mediator – a labour relations expert – could come in and really drill down on these issues, and could provoke the union and government to consider a solution they hadn’t thought about in the past.

Stevens said there isn’t really an easy strategy in this situation, other than the parties getting back to negotiating and taking seriously the concerns about class size and complexity.