(File Photo/650 CKOM)

By CJME News

ONE DAY STRIKE

Sask. teachers hit the picket line Tuesday in one-day strike

Jan 16, 2024 | 8:00 AM

Saskatchewan education minister Jeremy Cockrill isn’t happy to see teachers walk off the job in a one-day, province-wide strike Tuesday.

“It’s disappointing it’s gotten to this point,” said Cockrill.

“I think we know from the last couple (of) years through the pandemic that it’s better for kids to be in school than it is for kids not to be in school.”

While negotiations are at an impasse, Cockrill is adamant, that at some point, a deal will be completed at the bargaining table.

The problem is that no new talks between the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation or the province are scheduled.

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STF president Samantha Beecote has said that the union is trying every option to get back to bargaining.

“The last thing any teacher wants is for negotiations to impact the school year, so we are exhausting every possible option to get government back to the table,” Becotte said in a statement.

“At every turn, teachers have said that committees are getting us nowhere on these urgent issues, and a new deal must include items to address class size and complexity. Government remains intransigent, even after conciliation. This is not bargaining; they are making decisions based on politics and student learning is suffering for it.”

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However, Cockrill remained steadfast in his direction to address class size and complexity with school boards and school divisions, rather than with the STF.

“We are working with school divisions. We announced a pilot project last week that’s working with eight specific school divisions on specialized support classrooms… if that pilot is successful… if we start to see progress and improvements in outcomes… we would absolutely look at expanding that pilot out to more divisions and more schools,” he said.

Cockrill also said he expects to see improvement in class sizes, although he didn’t specify how that would be accomplished.

The STF has said that if no progress with the province is made, strikes or other forms of action could escalate. But Cockrill said deeming teachers an essential service is not something he’s considered yet.

“That’s not a conversation we’ve had,” he said.

Neither is potentially going to binding arbitration.

“I want to get a bargain deal done. I want to get a deal done that at the end of the day, we can move forward with,” he added.

Cockrill also suggested one of the reasons a deal has not yet been struck was because of STF salary demands.

“The teacher’s union has said this is not about money. Yet they continue to demand a 23.5 per cent increase over four years. We’re just not prepared to accept that deal on behalf of Saskatchewan taxpayers,” he added.

Still, Cockrill said he hopes the STF comes back to the bargaining table.

“I don’t know if I’m just an eternal optimist or a millennial, but I do believe we’re going to get back to the table here eventually, get a deal done,” he said.

According to a statement from the STF, Beecote will be at the legislature on Tuesday, delivering letters of support from teachers and parents to Premier Scott Moe. Teachers and supporters will also be demonstrating in front of the building.

In total, there will be 40 sites set up across the province where teachers will be demonstrating, including three in Saskatoon at Lawson Heights Mall, Mid Town Plaza, and at Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Paul Merriman’s office.

The last time teachers went on strike was in the spring of 2011.