'No teacher wanted this': STF president says 5-day strike notice was about giving Sask. parents time

The president of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation said a five-day countdown to a one-day strike by the province’s teachers was about giving parents as much notice as possible.

The union was only required to give 48 hours notice but instead opted for a five-day countdown that began on Thursday morning.

Samantha Becotte said the union is disappointed that it has come to job action as contract talks with the province remain stalled.

“No teacher across the province really wanted this to occur,” she said during an interview with CTV Morning Live.

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“The best agreements come negotiated at the table but in order for that to happen you need to have two parties who are willing to meaningfully engage in negotiations and have a back and forth,” Becotte said.

Becotte says the provincial government has been refusing to negotiate on teachers’ biggest issues, which continue to be complexities inside classrooms and the amount of students inside those classrooms.

A third-party conciliator's report said the two sides could negotiate the issues without running afoul of governing legislation.

However, the province has remained steadfast the issues should not be brought to the bargaining table.

Becotte feels the one-day strike will show the province just how serious teachers are.

“We need to see improvements to the conditions that students and teachers are experiencing in classrooms across the province. We need to see long-term commitment,” she said.

Following Thursday's strike announcement, education minister Jeremy Cockrill said the government bargaining team is "disappointed."

"We know that disrupting learning is not what is in the best interest of students and that deals are reached at the bargaining table, not on the picket line," Cockrill said.