STF members won't oversee extracurricular activities Monday
Teachers step up job action to put pressure on provincial government
Insisting that the provincial government is leaving “no other options,” the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) is implementing a one-day, provincewide withdrawal of extracurriculars as its latest round of job action.
Extracurriculars being cancelled on Monday include sports, drama, music, band, science clubs, intramurals, rehearsals, student leadership activities, planning for graduation celebrations, book fairs, and other clubs and activities. The withdrawal includes activities that take place before school, during lunch, after school and in the evenings, the STF outlined in a news release.
“Teachers are passionate about the work we do to support students in classrooms and within the school community. We never want to be in a situation where opportunities for students are impacted; however, this government has left us no other options,” STF president Samantha Becotte said in the release. The decision to halt extracurriculars wasn't made lightly, she said, but is something the union feels is needed in order to convey to the provincial government the “magnitude of the situation they have caused and continue to contribute to.”
Becotte repeated calls for the government-trustee bargaining committee (GTBC) to “get serious” and return to the bargaining table. Asked if she felt the job action — one-day strikes, and withdrawal of service — would work in the longterm given the recent renewed mandate presented by the GTBC, Becotte said “yeah, otherwise we wouldn't be taking the actions.”
“This government has the ability to pay, they have the ability to ensure that students are getting the supports that they need in classrooms all across the province,” said Becotte. “They just need the political will and a lot of that political will often comes from public pressure.”
Rotating noon-hour supervision withdrawals will also occur Monday. Teachers will not be available to supervise students who are eating lunch at school or taking part in noon-hour activities. Schools impacted by that sanction include those within the Northern Area Teachers' Association, northwest Teachers' Association, Prairie South Teachers' Association, Saskatoon Teachers' Association, and Tri-west Teachers' Association.
In the past, withdrawal of noon hour supervision has resulted in altered and/or shortened days for students, but has been dependent on individualized plans announced by each school division.
A virtual information night for parents and caregivers is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. to provide updates on contract negotiations and job action. Registration is available on the STF website.
Bargaining for a new contract began last spring and has been plagued by impasse after impasse as both the province and STF have dug in their heels. Following a sanctions vote that found 95 per cent of voters in favour took place in October, a variety of job action and sanctions have taken place.
While the STF'S fight centres on getting language around classroom composition and complexity baked into the contract, the province has maintained those are issues to be addressed outside of negotiations, offering non-legally binding memorandums of understanding (MOU) and announcing new funding and pilot projects.