Rolling teacher strikes hit Saskatoon, other regions
4th Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation job action in 1 month as contract impasse continues
Teachers in Saskatoon and some other regions of the province returned to the picket line on Wednesday in an effort to ramp up pressure on stalled contract negotiations with the Saskatchewan government.
Four local teachers' associations took part in the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation's (STF's) second round of rotating strikes in an effort to get the province to begin negotiating on class size and complexity.
Rachelle Kelln, a French immersion teacher at Bishop James Mahoney high school, said she feels her workload get heavier as class sizes continue to increase. She said all four of the classes she teaches have 35 or more students, including some with complex needs.
"When I started teaching 22 years ago, I would have 25 students in a class," Kelln said from the picket line in Saskatoon Wednesday. "I'd mark an assignment, say 10 to 15 minutes per assignment, add 10 more kids on that, that's another few hours a day.
"It's absurd."
Kelln also said she now uses a microphone to teach due to the sheer amount of bodies in her classroom.
4th STF job action in 1 month
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 is the fourth day of striking by the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation following a first round of rotating strikes last Thursday and two one-day, provincewide strikes on Jan. 16 and Jan. 22.
The following local teachers' associations walked off the job on Wednesday:
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Creighton Teachers' Association, including Creighton School Division
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Northern Area Teachers' Association, including Northern Lights School Division.
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Prairie Spirit School Division, including Prairie Spirit School Division.
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Saskatoon Teachers' Association, including Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and Saskatoon Public Schools.
The rotating strike also included Conseil des écoles fransaskoises schools and Saskatchewan Distance Learning teachers
More job action is on the way this week.
Teachers across the province will refuse voluntary supervision and extracurricular duties like leading clubs over lunchtime on Thursday, the STF said Monday.
Samantha Becotte, STF's president, said the province needs to make long term commitments to improving the state of public education to avoid further job action.
"We have heard consistently from teachers that they're ready to do what it takes to have better protections around their working conditions, better supports for their students, learning conditions, and better improvements to their compensation," Becotte said.
"We don't want to be taking these actions, and while we do have a short term and a long term plan, we're hopeful government starts taking this seriously and gets back to the table so that we can avoid any further action."
Standstill over contract
The STF and the provincial government have both accused the other side of stalling negotiations.
The government maintains its position that class size and complexity 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.
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With files from Dayne Patterson