The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation has given notice they will be withdrawing all extracurricular support throughout the province starting Monday. The notice was given by the STF via a press release Thursday afternoon.  

In the release, the STF stated they were providing five days' notice to give the Minister of Education the chance to send the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee back to the bargaining table with a renewed mandate.  

“This job action can be stopped immediately when government is ready to negotiate on all issues of importance to teachers, including class size and complexity,” said STF President Samantha Becotte in the release. “We are asking government to include the offer they made outside of bargaining as part of the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee’s renewed mandate. If Minister of Education Jeremey Cockrill, Premier Scott Moe, and Saskatchewan School Boards Association President Jaimie Smith-Windsor are truly committed to improving the experience of students in schools, they should have no problem allowing the discussion of these items at the bargaining table. With these items on the table, negotiations can come to a quick conclusion, resolving the longest teachers’ strike in the history of Saskatchewan. This would ensure that schools and teachers can move on in planning an excellent ending to the school year, including all the voluntary services from which students and families benefit.” 

The extracurricular activities that would be affected include the organization, supervision and facilitation of activities outside of the regular curriculum, such as sports, non-curricular arts, field trips, student travel and preparations for graduation.  

In a press conference held early Thursday afternoon, Becotte stated the STF has been receiving widespread support from students, parents and community members at large since job action started in January. 

“We recognize the frustration that comes with these actions, but that frustration is directed at government in their intransigence, and their stubbornness in moving from that position that it can’t be in the collective agreement,” Becotte said, referencing the provincial government’s stance they cannot include anything about classroom size or complexity in a new agreement.  

Becotte also answered a question about the effectiveness of the rotating strikes and rotating withdrawal of lunch hour supervision, which has been the primary method of job action save for two separate one-day province-wide walkouts.  

“We are hopeful that our strategy works, and it encourages government to get back to the table and be able to negotiate on those priority items of teachers,” Becotte explained. “We don’t want to have that significant disruption to student learning. That is not in the best interest of anyone.” 

When asked about why there has been little job action in the southeast, aside from the two one-day provincewide walkouts, and one day of lunch hour supervision withdrawal for each division, Becotte said there is a plan in place.  

“There’s definitely a longer-term plan, not to say necessarily that the southeast or other areas will be specifically impacted, but all of those decisions are looked at strategically, and over a bigger picture.”