The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation along with a number of large unions in the province are calling on Premier Scott Moe and his SaskParty government to implement further public health orders as a number of sectors deal with staff shortages due to the Omicron variant.

Lori Johb, President of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour says they’re calling on the province to reintroduce household bubbles, a 10 person-cap on gatherings along with limiting non-school or work contacts.

Tracy Zambory, President of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses says SUN members say they’re already stretched too thin to provide the safe, high quality care that patients depend on. She added that the peak of Omicron is still weeks away.

On the education front, President Patrick Maze of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation says it’s a “system of chaos” when it comes to the current situation in Saskatchewan schools.

“Substitute teachers are playing vital role in keeping schools open but there aren’t enough to provide coverage. Some schools have had to find non-instructional and unqualified staff to simply offer supervision due to the shortage of substitute teachers. The impact is students are quickly losing access to consistent, quality education.”

On January 12th, Dr. Saqib Shahab, the province’s Chief Medical Health Officer recommended that people limit their gathering sizes and minimizing their contacts outside of school and work.