Teachers demonstrate in front of MLA Alana Ross' office during a recent one-day strike in Prince Albert. (Jaryn Vecchio/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

2024 Sask. teachers bargaining

STF won’t budge on classroom structure talks

Feb 20, 2024 | 1:31 PM

Having classroom complexity included in collective bargaining is a deal breaker or maker, said the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation in a news release today.

The STF said it has made it clear to the province that they will not accept an agreement unless it addresses that, along with class sizes and violence.

At a news conference, the STF was joined by colleagues from B.C., Ontario and New Brunswick, to show this has happened in other jurisdictions.

“If the minister of education and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association are willing to make agreements in an MOU (memorandum of understanding) regarding classroom complexity, there is absolutely no reason that I can see that it can’t be part of a bargaining process. Unless this government just has no intentions of holding up the agreements they’re making with teachers,” said Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Samantha Becotte.

On Friday, the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) said it thinks class structure is an issue best addressed by individual boards, pointing to a recent provincial promise to allocate over $50 million to allow boards to do that.

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The SSBA said they would create committees that represent teachers’ associations, trustees and administration to identify priorities that would then be reported to the Department of Education.

The next day, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill tweeted his support of the SSBA’s position.

“The critical issues that our students and teachers are facing in classrooms have played out in other provinces, only with different results,” Becotte said. “The Government of Saskatchewan needs to wake up and start working on the solutions to address class size and complexity that our students desperately need.”

The STF, which has promised an escalation of job action next week, wants a more direct voice and said that putting the issue in the collective agreement will make sure the province keeps its commitments and provide predictability.

“The Government of Saskatchewan has refused to provide their bargaining committee with the authority to bargain on classroom size, complexity or violence,” said the news release. “Until the government provides their committee with a mandate to engage on these critical matters, Saskatchewan teachers have no choice but to continue job sanctions.”

The Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario recently addressed complexity in their collective agreement, getting more staffing and resources for teachers in the deal.

In B.C., teachers negotiated class-size limits and caseload ratios for specialist teachers (counsellors) and guaranteed support levels for students with learning challenges.

Teachers in New Brunswick are also pushing their government to address serious issues such as understaffed classroom and overcrowded buildings.

No details of what the escalated job action will be have been released, but the STF has promised 48 hours notice to give parents time to prepare.

So far, teachers have withdrawn noon hour supervision on one day and done rotating strikes in other areas, such as Prince Albert and Shellbrook.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com