Saskatchewan teachers will withdraw services on Wednesday and Thursday
Teachers across Saskatchewan will withdraw all professional and voluntary services on Wed., May 25 and Thurs., May 26. The two-day strike is intended to put pressure on the provincial government to table the teachers’ union an offer.
The 12,000 members of the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation (STF) have been without a contract since August 2010.
Talks broke off Thursday evening after the two sides had been at the bargaining table last week. The teacher’s union is claiming the Saskatchewan government is offering a wage increase of just over six per cent over three years, which is only a half a per cent more than what was being offered before talks resumed.
The provincial government is claiming that the union is asking for a 16 per cent increase over three years, which is a four per cent difference in what was being asked for when talks first broke off.
The STF held a one-day strike earlier this month on May 5 when teachers rallied at the provincial parliament. Like last time, the union has given 48 hours’ notice before their withdrawal of services, as had been promised when the 95 per cent of the union voted in favour of job action at the beginning of the month. This time, all classes, extracurricular activities and buses will be cancelled for the two days.
Classes will resume as usual on Friday.
