The union representing 7,000 education support workers is calling on the provincial government to stop, what it calls, misleading the people of Saskatchewan and immediately step up its efforts to make schools safe.
Last week, Premier Moe announced that 100,000 rapid tests were being deployed to Saskatchewan schools and that testing could begin right away. But the union says the premier knew full well that the protocols and staffing required to administer these tests were not in place.

CUPE says, in making the statement, the premier either deliberately misled the public, or had no detailed knowledge of his own safe school’s plan. CUPE says this single action has increased the stress and fear that education staff have been feeling since the start of the pandemic.

Rob Westfield, is an education support worker and chair of CUPE Saskatchewan’s Education Workers’ Steering Committee. He says there are many protocols that must be put in place before rapid tests can be administered in Saskatchewan schools. In the meantime, he says, “Our education workers are forced to put their lives at risk because they were left out of the phase one vaccinations.”

The union says there are steps the province can take to ensure the safety and security of the education system over the long term, including providing sufficient funding in its upcoming budget to address overcrowding in schools. In the meantime, CUPE says education workers must get vaccinated immediately.