NDP urges binding arbitration as Sask. teacher job action continues

Schools in Saskatoon, Regina and several other communities will close over lunch Thursday as teachers refuse lunch supervision duties in another rotating noon-hour strike.

The school divisions affected by Thursday's job action are the following:

The nearly 13,000 teachers represented by the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) also refused extracurricular duties Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, halting activities like sports, clubs and graduation planning in schools across the province.

Rotating job action has been ongoing since mid-January, following the breakdown in contract negotiations between the STF and the provincial government. Teachers want to include issues such as class size and complexity in bargaining, but the government says those issues are best addressed at the local board level.

On Wednesday, NDP education critic Matt Love called for the Sask. Party to consider binding arbitration on class size and complexity alone to help bargaining on the overall deal resume.

Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck said Wednesday that a deal has "always been possible" but it's clear that intervention is needed.

"If they were to agree, [binding arbitration] would get all parties back to the table and ensure there are no more disruptions for students," she told reporters at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities annual convention in Regina.

Beck, a former school trustee, said while she has confidence in teachers and boards to negotiate, "I have less confidence in the willingness of this government to do what it's going to take to get this deal."

Both the province and the STF have blamed the other for the impasse, which has escalated to near-daily job action in recent weeks.

The disruptions have meant the cancellation of a Saskatoon high school basketball championship's quarter-final and semifinal games on Monday and Wednesday, leaving the top two seeded teams from regular league play to compete in a final game set for Friday.

On Tuesday afternoon, Premier Scott Moe called the job actions and disruptions to extracurricular activities disappointing.

"We've been very clear that we're looking to move and have moved on a number of topics. The STF has not moved on any topics that they have brought to the table and we're trying to make every effort to find solutions to ensure that our children can stay in school and they have access to their extracurricular basketball and such," Moe told reporters at an unrelated announcement in Warman.

The premier said he "respectfully requests" teachers leave the picket line and come to the table.

Last week, the Sask. Party government announced a rare pre-budget funding agreement with the Saskatchewan School Boards Association for $356 million annually for the next four years.