Faculty at Sask. universities, Polytechnic throw support behind STF

Faculty associations at the universities of Regina and Saskatchewan and at Saskatchewan Polytechnic are throwing their support behind the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation in its efforts to nail down a new contract.

During a Zoom conference Monday, the U of R’s Britt Hall, the U of S’s Geraldine Balzer and Sask. Polytechnic’s Bill Grosskleg all expressed their support for STF president Samantha Becotte.

“The systemic underfunding of public education at all levels in our province is shameful,” said Hall.

“My children, along with all K-12 students, are tomorrow’s university students, and we know just how important it is that students get the support they need to succeed from the moment they show up in kindergarten to the moment they graduate from post-secondary institutions.”

Hall accused the provincial government of a “vast failure of imagination,” adding that Saskatchewan could have the world’s best public education, with meaningful investments.

“In order for these students to succeed, they need the proper supports in place, which includes adequate funding and resources,” Grosskleg said.

The chronic lack of public funding has also put Saskatchewan kids at a disadvantage from elementary school to post-secondary, Balzer said.

But the post-secondary support for the STF doesn’t include any members of the faculty associations walking picket lines or taking other job-related measures.

“The contracts that we have with the four employers … have clauses in their collective agreements that prevent any kind of job action,” said Hall.

Both Balzer and Grosskleg said the same thing. However, Hall said faculty members sometimes visit picket lines and express solidarity in “other ways.”

Speaking on the Evan Bray Show on Monday, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said the province was increasing the annual school operating budget by $180 million for all 27 school divisions. That includes funding teacher’s contracts.

A funding agreement was signed with the Saskatchewan School Boards Association last week.

“So that’s the supports for learning funding, that’s the (educational assistant) funding that we have that has hired almost 1,000 more EAs over the last several years in this province, as well as the pilot program,” said Cockrill.

Becotte said she’s frustrated at the options the province had already presented to the STF, including that classroom size and complexity can’t be included in the collective bargaining agreement. She said teachers need to know money is coming, and that it won’t be cut off.

“If they would just be willing to put them within the collective bargaining process, it would provide us with an opportunity to get back to the table,” she said.

Becotte also hinted at further job sanctions.

“The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation continue(s) to look at all of our possible options with job action. Those actions will continue and we’ll continue to escalate,” she said.

Becotte said the province can add funding to the collective agreement, but it’s choosing not to do that.