All schools in the Weyburn and southeast region will be closed today, May 25, and Thursday, May 26, for a two-day teachers' strike, after the two sides in the ongoing labour dispute between the province and the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation broke
All schools in the Weyburn and southeast region will be closed today, May 25, and Thursday, May 26, for a two-day teachers' strike, after the two sides in the ongoing labour dispute between the province and the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation broke down on Thursday for the second time.
In an announcement by the Southeast Cornerstone School Division and Holy Family Catholic School Division on Friday, all schools in their divisions will be closed on those two days, with all extracurricular activities cancelled and all buses also cancelled for that period.
The Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee offered an additional 0.55 per cent increase from their offer of 5.5 per cent over three years, while the STF came back to the table with an increase of 16.3 per cent over three years, up from their initial request of 12 per cent in one year.
"This new demand of 16.3 per cent demonstrates the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation is unwilling to negotiate. Bargaining has now broken down for a second time," said Sandi Urban-Hall, spokesperson for the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee.
She said school divisions will notify students and their families on any contingency plans in place to support them if any job action is taken.
"We are formally requesting that the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation offer assurances that any job sanctions employed between now and the end of the school year do not affect the ability of our Grade 12 students to receive their diploma and move on to post-secondary education opportunities in September," said Urban-Hall.
For the teachers' part, their claim is that teachers are not being valued properly.
"We hear that teachers are valued, but there seems to be little willingness to demonstrate that in a collective agreement. Instead, teachers are being threatened with layoffs and being attacked for wanting to take part in Saskatchewan's booming economy," said Gwen Dueck, spokesperson for the Teachers' Bargaining Committee.
The Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee claims to do a thorough analysis of compensation packages for teachers from all the provinces as well as supply and demand pressures. They note the cost of living as measured by the Consumer Price Index has gone up 33 per cent since 1997; in the same period, teacher salaries have gone up 59.5 per cent at the bottom of the scale, and 53.2 per cent at the top.
"We have made an offer to the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation that, if ratified, would make Saskatchewan teachers among the highest paid in Canadian provinces," said Urban-Hall.
