STF counting down to full extracurricular withdrawal
The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) has announced a five-day countdown to a provincewide withdrawal of extracurricular activities in an attempt to get the government back to the bargaining table.
“Teachers don't want to be taking these actions, but if government continues to ignore the big issues, we will have no other choice but to further escalate our actions,” said STF president Samantha Becotte during a virtual press conference Thursday.
If demands aren't met, the provincewide withdrawal of extracurriculars will begin with two full days on Tuesday, March 5 and Wednesday, March 6. The sanction will see the withdrawal of all voluntary services involved in the organization, supervision and facilitation of activities, including athletics, non-curricular arts, field trips, student travel and graduation preparations.
“They continue to ignore the implications of these job actions, they continue to ignore their responsibility in this process,” said Becotte. “The government has made offers outside of the bargaining process and we are simply asking for them to commit to those things where they can be held accountable within our provincial collective agreement.”
Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill has said the province is willing to annualize $53.1 million in funding to assure the union it will address class size and complexity through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outside of bargaining. The MOU has been criticized by the STF because it would not be legally binding and could be cancelled by either party with 12 months written notice.
“This job action can be stopped immediately when government is ready to negotiate on all issues of importance to teachers, including class size and complexity,” said Becotte in a Thursday news release. “We are asking government to include the offer they made outside of bargaining as part of the Government Trustee Bargaining Committee's renewed mandate.”
Becotte also expressed concerns with school boards and elected trustees neglecting to speak out on bargaining issues.
“It is concerning that they're not adding their voice into the conversation because they are elected to represent their communities,” said Becotte during Thursday's media availability, adding she understands the barriers in being represented by a provincial organization.
“I would encourage those local trustees, if they're not speaking out publicly, they should definitely be directing their concerns to that provincial organization to ensure that the school board association is representing all of the local boards that are members of that organization accurately.”
Nearly 110,000 emails have been sent to the province in support of the union, the release notes.
The announcement comes after a week of rotating strikes, withdrawal of noon-hour supervision and extracurriculars, which the STF says is the longest string of job action by teachers in the history of the province.