Thousands of SIAST students are bracing for the possibility of picket lines at school campuses come Monday morning, after the union representing instructors and support staff issued formal strike notice.
Talks that had been underway with the help of a Regina-based mediator broke down mid-week when the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ (SGEU) bargaining units presented final offers that were rejected by the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science & Technology.
But Jim Steele, chair of the SGEU academic negotiating committee, said the union is willing to get back to the table, provided SIAST agrees to bring in the same out-of-province mediator who helped conclude an agreement in 2007.
SIAST said in a statement the institution had no choice but to turn the offers down because they were presented as being final and were “significantly higher than other recent public-sector settlements.”
However, Steele said what’s being offered is a four per cent total compensation package over a three-year contract. He said it isn’t in line with what faculty and staff at other educational institutions have received.
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“We’re always concerned about students,” said Steele. “They’re the last person in the world we want to harm in this, but you’re backed into a corner so what else can you do?”
Both sides are gearing up for a potential strike that could technically start as soon as Saturday morning.
Gary Earles, SIAST’s associate vice-president of human resources, said a contingency plan is in place to deal with any strike action that might occur.
“We’re committed to trying to continue to provide our programming, classroom instruction, et cetera. The exact nature of the strike will influence, to some extent, what we’re able to do,” Earles said in an interview.
SIAST, which had more than 14,000 students enrolled in programs in the most recent academic year as well as people in individual courses, operates campuses in Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and Regina.
“Of course, whenever there’s a strike mandate we’re always concerned about how employee striking affects student education,” said Lorisa Earnshaw, president of the SIAST Students’ Association at the Wascana campus in Regina.
She noted many students have finals approaching in the coming weeks.
“(A strike now) would impact students, I would say, the most out of any time during a semester.”
Earnshaw said SIAST and the union will need to keep students informed of what’s happening and reminded students to go online for information. SIAST is expected to provide updates about the response to job action at http://www.campusupdate.ca.
The last contract covering 700 professional services staff and 1,300 instructors at SIAST expired about 16 months ago.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the provincial government urged the parties to “roll up their sleeves, get back to the negotiating tables and come to an agreement — without disrupting the vital work of our students and their families.”
The government said there will no disruption in administering student financial assistance.
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