Schools in Regina, Saskatoon among those without noon supervision Friday

Teachers in some school divisions will withdraw noon-hour supervision Friday as the contract dispute between the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and province continues.

The announcement Tuesday is the latest in a series of sanctions the union has enacted as it pushes for a pay increase and for stipulations around class size and classroom complexity to be built into the teachers’ new contract.

“Withdrawal of noon-hour supervision means STF members will not be available to supervise students who are eating lunch at school or taking part in noon-hour activities,” the union said in a statement.

“Although teachers, including principals and vice principals, often provide lunch break supervision, it is done on a voluntary basis.”

The withdrawal Friday will include all schools in the Saskatoon Public and Greater Saskatoon Catholic Divisions, as well as all schools in the Regina Catholic division.

Also included are all schools in the Christ the Teacher Catholic, Good Spirit, Light of Christ Catholic, Living Sky, North East, Prairie Spirit and South East Cornerstone divisions, along with Sakewew High School in North Battleford.

The union acknowledged that its sanctions will be inconvenient for families, but encouraged them to contact their MLAs and school board trustees with any concerns.

Meanwhile, the provincial government has said the federation has only been at the bargaining table for half an hour over the past five months.

While class size and composition have been sticking points for the union, leading it to turn down invitations to resume bargaining, the province has said those issues should be managed on the local level by school divisions.