'The system is going to crumble’: Sask. teachers back on the picket line

The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) continues to call for funding commitments to classrooms, as hundreds of teachers walk the picket line in Saskatoon on Wednesday.

The STF and the provincial government have been at a standstill since October. The union representing teachers wants to include class size and complexity in negations, but the province has repeatedly said that topic doesn't belong at the bargaining table.

Kindergarten teacher Brianna Aubin believes the education system is going to fail if nothing changes.

"The future of the system is going to crumble, students are going to be left behind, they're not going to get what they need, and they are going to go into their future unprepared,” she said.

Maxine Panchuk said she has many students with complex needs in her kindergarten classroom and no support from an educational assistant.

“I’m exhausted everyday, I’m putting in the best effort to teach the students, but unfortunately we need funding from the government to have smaller class sizes and more supports,” she said.

The STF is withdrawing from extracurricular activities on Thursday and Friday, and teachers in Lloydminster will walk off the job for one day on Friday.

The STF said it will end job action if the province agrees to bring in a third-party arbitrator to help solve the dispute, but Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill has previously said binding arbitration would not be appropriate.

“Binding arbitration would deal with items in the provincial collectively bargained agreement. We've been clear that these issues — class size and complexity — are not issues related to the CBA,” Cockrill said last Thursday.

Teachers’ last contract expired in August of 2023.