Warmer weather was a boon to teachers and their supporters as the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) held its second one-day strike on Jan. 22, seeking to pressure the Sask. Party government to negotiate on classroom size and complexity.
"We're still looking for improvements for our students in the classroom," said Gisele Perrault, a grade 1/2 teacher and board member of the Prairie South Teachers' Association. "The government isn't moving at all, so this is our way to tell them that we are perfectly serious, and we're going to keep doing sanctions until they come to the table to bargain."
The first one-day strike on Jan. 16 was followed by a five-day countdown to strike two when it became clear the province wouldn't budge. At least 300 teachers from Moose Jaw's two school divisions turned out for the first strike, and attendance for the second job action looked even higher, aided by warmer weather — there were at least 400 teachers marching from the intersection of Main and Thatcher all the way down to Canadian Tire and Walmart, with a constant cacophony of honking and waving from passing motorists.
Negotiations between the STF, which has more than 13,000 members, and the Sask Party's Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee (GTBC) have broken down after months of attempted compromise.
The STF wants concessions in the collective bargaining agreement regarding classroom complexity and teacher/student ratios. They have presented new data from the Ministry of Education showing provincial enrolment growth of 5,658 students — or three per cent — from 2022-23 to 2023-24, with nearly 75 per cent of school divisions experiencing at least some increase.
Accompanying data shows teaching staff numbers declined from 2021-22 to 2022-23. That data suggests the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions for all teaching staff declined by 1.2 per cent or 145 FTEs, while actual classroom teacher positions declined by 0.7 per cent or 66 actual positions.
The provincial government's position has been that the issues the STF is sticking on should be dealt with at the individual school board level. A recent report from an independent conciliation board called the disagreements "more than an ordinary difference" and noted the STF/government relationship has become "strained."
Rhetoric on the disagreement has escalated, with government ministers including Jeremy Cockrill, Minister of Education, taking to social media to suggest that already-highly-paid teachers are asking for unreasonable wage increases. Teachers on the picket line have responded with targeted signs bearing slogans such as, 'It's about student need, not teacher greed'.
Samantha Becotte, the president of the STF, characterized the strikes as 'forced' by government intractability.
"We are giving this government every opportunity to return to the table and engage with us to find solutions," Becotte said in a Jan. 22 release. "The Minister wants to make this all about teacher salaries and continues to misrepresent our proposals.
"If they continue to flat-out refuse to bargain on class size and complexity, which are the learning conditions for Saskatchewan’s students, we will have no choice but to continue to exercise the only options we have left to bring them back into discussions."
Becotte said that recent announcements of pilot projects and additional education funding were designed by government to distract from the real issues and undermine the STF in the eyes of the public.
"I would much rather be in the classroom with my 'littles' than out here on the picket line," Perrault told MooseJawToday.com. "But I will do what I have to to ensure we have the supports to provide a stellar education.
"We're very grateful for the support we're getting from parents and the public — as you can hear, there's all kinds of honking going on from people passing our line here, and there have been people honking for us since we started."
