Sask. teachers to pull noon-hour supervision in some school divisions Thursday

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation has announced a fourth straight day of sanctions against the provincial government.

In a post on its website Monday, the federation revealed that teachers in six school divisions around the province will not be providing lunch-hour supervision for one day on Thursday.

The affected schools are in the Chinook, Creighton, Lloydminster Public, Lloydminster Catholic, North East and Prairie Spirit school divisions.

READ MORE:

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• STF reveals more sanctions to take place Wednesday across Sask.

As a result, teachers, principals and vice-principals won’t be supervising students who are eating lunch at school or taking part in noon-hour activities.

The STF stressed that its members provide lunch-hour supervision on a voluntary basis. The school divisions can provide supervision with people who aren’t teachers.

“Teachers understand that the withdrawal of noon-hour supervision is an inconvenience to many families,” the STF post said. “Parents and caregivers concerned about the impact of job action should contact their MLAs and elected school board trustees and ask them to encourage the government’s bargaining committee to return to the table with a new mandate.”

The teachers’ union and the provincial government have been negotiating a new contract since the previous deal expired in August.

The STF launched one-day strikes and rotating strikes in mid-January, but ceased all sanctions Feb. 7 when the government invited the union back to the bargaining table.

Talks broke down Feb. 13 and both sides accused the other of walking away from the talks. The union subsequently reinstituted the sanctions, including rotating strikes and the withdrawal of lunch-hour supervision and extracurricular activities.

STF president Samantha Becotte has said the union wants to get back to bargaining, but the teachers won’t do so until the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee agrees to include class size and complexity in the negotiations.

The government says those issues should be dealt with by local school divisions, and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association has agreed with the province’s stance.

The union also has raised concerns about violence in classrooms, with teachers sharing stories of abuse at the hands of students. The STF said that’s a symptom of underfunding of the education system by the provincial government.