Will the rest of the school year be impacted by teacher job action? Initial talks away from the bargaining table appear to have gone well. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

education impasse

Local school division optimistic after initial teacher-government talks

Feb 26, 2020 | 12:09 PM

A senior local school administrator is encouraged by the positive outcome of initial discussions between the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF), Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA), and the education ministry Tuesday in their quest to break the impasse over classroom supports and complexity.

Lorel Trumier, the director of education for the Prince Albert Catholic School Division, said she’s optimistic middle ground can be found. The two sides met away from the bargaining table following the overwhelming vote by teachers in favour of job sanctions that, in their worst case, could include a walkout.

“It was positive to see the government, trustee bargaining committee, and the STF come together quickly after the results of the sanctions vote,” she told paNOW. “We’re optimistic things will continue to progress. I know the issues are complex.”

The Prince Albert and Area Teachers’ Association has called on school boards to support the teachers’ call for more supports in the classroom and to deal with the pressing issue of the complexity of class make-up. Trumier said school boards are always trying to meet the needs of their students and staff, “and try to balance those needs with the finite resources we have.”

She was hopeful common ground could be found and said no one wanted the teachers to leave the classroom, but added it was the division’s job to be prepared for any eventuality.

Raiders AGM

Raiders impact on Prince Albert local economy continues to go up: AGM report

5h ago

Court proceedings

'The impact of this trauma will echo for generations': court case surrounding La Ronge woman's death reaches conclusion

Dec 11, 2024

Going Global

P.A.'s Zablocki named to Team Canada for U18 Women's World Championships

Dec 11, 2024

“We’ve provided notice to our families that we will communicate with them should anything occur. We’re anticipating at least 48 hours notice [if there’s any job action], but let’s hope that doesn’t occur.”

paNOW contacted the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division but they did not want to offer comment.

The immediate risk of teacher job action subsided Tuesday with STF President Patrick Maze calling talks with Education Minister Gord Wyant “productive” and “positive.”

Because of that, Maze said teachers likely won’t be exercising their sanctions mandate before the sides meet again next week.

“It would be safe to assume that we would wait until that meeting to see how that goes,” Maze said.

The sides haven’t been on the same page during negotiations, primarily on the issues of class size and composition. The meeting Tuesday wasn’t a formal negotiation session,but resulted from the recommendation of a conciliation report urging the sides to find common ground.

Maze suggested that process began during the meeting.

“We’ve started towards meeting in the middle a little bit,” he said. “The ministry (of education) obviously accepts that there’s work that needs to be done in our classrooms. It’s just a case of what that fix looks like and how that fix is acceptable to all different parties at the table.”

Wyant believes continuing the conversations might help prevent teachers from acting on the sanctions vote.

“As long as we’re talking, I think that’s a positive thing for not just teachers, but for the children in our classrooms,” he said.

He added the government respects the rights of teachers to take any type of job action as part of bargaining, but he believes the union leadership doesn’t want to get to that point.

Wyant did not want to discuss details about the conversations with the STF and the SSBA, but said everyone agreed the issues are serious and they all want to find a path forward.

“Presumably if that breaks down, that’s at the point in time when the STF will take the opportunity to exercise sanctions,” Wyant said. “But until that happens, we continue to be very optimistic about an ongoing discussion.”

The government is still clear on its position that mandating classroom composition doesn’t belong in a collective bargaining agreement.

With files from CKOM’s Brent Bosker and CJME’s Adriana Christianson

—

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow