A picture taken in January when a province wide teachers' strike was first called. (Susan McNeil/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Community impact

Rotating strikes having big impact on low income families, says Prince Albert community group

Feb 14, 2024 | 4:43 PM

The executive director of Prince Albert’s west flat citizens group says teachers away from work is having a big impact on the whole community, not the least of which being single parent families working minimum wage jobs on an hourly rate.

Dawn Robins is responding to the latest round of rotating strikes announced Tuesday evening by the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF), which will mean no classes at any Prince Albert schools on Friday.

Noting this will mark the fourth time off the job for local teachers, Robins said its also means three days of lost income for parents who have children not old enough to be left home on their own.

“Whether that’s putting food on the table, paying a bill or things like that, we see the impact because we have people already coming through the doors that are struggling and I have a hard time with that,” she said.

And while noting her full support for teachers and their fight for fair pay and better working conditions, Robins also noted the time off and the negotiation process is detrimental to society. She questioned if there was not another measure that could be taken by the union.

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She also wonders why areas like Prince Albert have been affected three times by strike action, and yet there have been no rotating strikes in Regina.

Describing their internal discussions as complex and layered, STF President Samantha Beacotte explained decisions with respect to when and where they go on strike are based on making sure they take the right action at the right time.

“It doesn’t mean we are targeting one specific area. I think a part of it is wanting to make sure the actions are effective,” she said, adding all areas of the province are considered.

Beacotte also did not rule out longer strikes down the road, noting the union has both a short and long term strategy. But she explained consideration is given to both the impact on teachers and students in the schools, but also the families at home.

And with respect to concerns related to the impact on low income families, Beacotte explained they would prefer not to be taking any job action at all and for the government to come to the table and start negotiating with teachers.

“We recognize that the strike action we have taken has been disruptive to students and their families but at the same time we have also heard from families across the province whose children are struggling in school and they do not get the support they need and have had to seek private support,” she said.

And with that Beacotte also explained there are many families on a fixed income who cannot afford to pay for such services.

“Teachers are really fighting for kids, they’re fighting for the future of public education and we want to ensure in years to come we are going to have a high quality public education system that meets the needs of all students across our province”

Negotiations between the provincial government’s bargaining committee and the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation came to a halt on Tuesday and Beacotte noted that as Wednesday afternoon there had been no further communication from either the government’s bargaining committee or the Ministry of Education.

Earlier in the day, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill explained teachers were the ones who left the table after half an hour on Monday, and weren’t willing to talk about the new offers on Tuesday, so there was no point in meeting.

In a statement from Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck, she said she was not sure if the minister understood the “game he’s playing here.”

“This is our kids’ education, their future, and the Sask. Party is treating it like a game of political chicken. We’ve seen the Sask. Party’s education minister spend more time making Twitter videos than actually sitting down at the bargaining table to get a deal that improves learning conditions for students in our schools.”

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell