STF announces single-day strike, sanctions affecting Hoopla basketball tournament

Saskatchewan students’ Hoopla dreams may be on hold after the latest announcement of sanctions by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation.

According to the union, a one-day provincewide strike will be held Wednesday, followed by a provincewide withdrawal of support for extracurricular activities on Thursday and Friday.

On Wednesday, the day the provincial budget is to be tabled, the federation said more than 4,000 teachers will picket at the Legislative Building in Regina while hundreds of other teachers will demonstrate at other spots around Saskatchewan.

The sanctions around extracurriculars will affect Hoopla — the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association’s provincial basketball championships — which runs from Thursday through Saturday in Moose Jaw. The federation noted that the Optimist Band Festival in Regina will also be affected by its latest sanctions.

Federation president Samantha Becotte said the government left the union with no other choice but to continue with job action.

“Government’s unwillingness to work with teachers in finding any path forward has forced this decision, which will impact students and communities both big and small across the province,” Becotte said in a statement.

“Extracurricular activities are an incredibly valuable part of the school experience for both students and teachers, but the education of children and youth is always our first priority. We can no longer watch the decline of our students’ learning environment while government ignores reality and refuses to make a commitment to predictable, sustainable funding for prekindergarten to Grade 12 education.”

STF president Samantha Becotte speaks to reporters in Regina. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME file photo)

The federation and provincial government have been deadlocked in a dispute over the new collective agreement for teachers. Along with a salary increase, the union has been pushing for the new contract to include stipulations on class size and classroom complexity, and has refused to return to the table until the government agrees to include those in its new agreement.

Since talks collapsed, the union has been implementing sanctions including single-day provincewide strikes, rotating strikes and the withdrawal of noon-hour supervision and support for extracurriculars.

Despite acknowledging the issues and promising a sizable funding increase in a multi-year agreement with the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, the government has refused to address class size and composition in a contract with teachers. Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill has said those issues should be managed at the local level by school divisions.

In its agreement with school divisions, the government guaranteed a base amount of $356.6 million for classroom supports each year for four years. Becotte called that a “backdoor agreement,” and promised sanctions would continue until the funding increase was enshrined in a contract with teachers.

Last week, the union offered to suspend its sanctions if the government would agree to binding arbitration on the issues of class size and complexity, but that offer was quickly rejected by Saskatchewan’s premier.

“Binding arbitration is not a consideration that the government’s looking at at this point in time,” Scott Moe said on Thursday.

In a previous statement, Becotte said any cancellations due to the teachers’ ongoing sanctions fall squarely on Cockrill and Moe.

“If government refuses binding arbitration, then Minister Cockrill and Premier Moe are choosing to cancel school trips, graduation planning, band festivals, Hoopla and so many more of this year’s activities that bring joy to our students and school communities,” Becotte said.

“Every day the Minister delays his decision means students are missing out on more activities, lost deposits and the cancellation of events.”

Becotte is expected to share more details during a virtual news conference at 9:30 a.m. Monday.

Meanwhile, the union’s sanctions mean there will be no noon-hour supervision by teachers in a number of divisions around the province on Monday and Tuesday.