We have already reached a stalemate in the teachers' strike. We may be here for a while because neither side can risk breaking this standoff.
The first few days and/or weeks of strikes tend to be easier ones.
It will get harder for Saskatchewan teachers as the weeks drag on. And it could be weeks — or longer — before their contract situation gets resolved.
Still fuelled by a record 95 per cent job action mandate, Saskatchewan teachers received a further boost from public support.
According to an Insightrix poll of 600 people taken from Jan. 23 to 25, a whopping 76 per cent of those surveyed felt more sympathetic toward teachers after the first round of job action (15 per cent, slightly more; 61 per cent, significantly more) compared with 13 per cent who felt more sympathy toward the Saskatchewan Party government (five per cent, slightly more; eight per cent, significantly more).
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Don't have an account? Create Account
Coincidentally, Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill upped the rhetoric after this polling with social media posts claiming the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) was demanding a 23.4 per cent, four-year wage increase.
Perhaps both sides are getting the same polling results.
Even better news for the STF emerging from the poll: 52 per cent said they were not affected by the strike (although 43 per cent said they felt some impact).
However, here is where the dilemma begins for the STF … and, to a large extent, the Sask. Party government, as well.
Both sides need to maintain public goodwill. Because of this, neither side can really afford to make a drastic move that will cause them to lose public support.
So, we have already reached a stalemate in the teachers’ strike. We may be here for a while because neither side can risk breaking this standoff.
Let us further explore:
There are likely hawks within the Sask. Party government who would dearly love to legislate teachers back to work as soon as possible, but — at least for now — it seems the government has no choice but to play the long game.
Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Afternoon Headlines will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Teachers taking one-day strikes or rotating walkouts aren’t really doing anything to provoke back-to-work legislation that would create a backlash against a government going to the polls later this year.
This is why you are hearing virtually nothing from the government right now. Cockrill (and most everybody else in this government) simply ignores daily media requests to respond to strike developments.
Instead, the government’s communications staff spew “written statements” on the minister’s behalf. This way, politicians can more easily get away with nonsense statements implying the Sask. Party government has increased spending by 47 per cent since arriving in office in 2007 (which conveniently skips over that it’s also severely limited local school boards’ ability to tax, or that for the past 17 years there’s been this troubling little thing called inflation).
About the only way people are hearing from Cockrill these days is through his “myth vs. reality” social media memes in which he implies the teachers are really more interested in money than the classroom size and complexity issues.
It’s playing the long game in the hope of tearing down both public goodwill toward teachers and the teachers’ own resolve to continue this action.
Unfortunately for the teachers, it is also exceedingly hard for them to take more drastic measures because they fear losing their best ally — public goodwill.
One-day and now rotating strikes, sometimes occurring on professional development days or around weekends so as to not upset parents, have become the norm. More intrusive job actions like refusing to do extracurriculars that might cancel basketball tournaments or other activities would upset public support.
For now, teachers also have to play the long game.
Sooner or later, the STF may also have to step up its job action. A multiple-day walkout when the sitting resumes for the budget?
But the problem for the teachers’ union is that further job action both hurts members in the pocketbook and also softens public support for the teachers. The STF has to move cautiously.
That leaves the teachers and the Sask. Party government this week in a standoff — a stalemate that may go on for a while.
Murray Mandryk is the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Rami G Khouri
Nikkei Editorial
visit website
