The Canadian Union of Public Employees says, as the beginning of the school year approaches, students and education workers are without a provincial plan for a safe return to schools.

Rob Westfield, an education support worker and chair of CUPE Saskatchewan’s Education Workers’ Steering Committee says, “CUPE members working as education support staff are eager to return to classrooms, but they want to do so in a way that ensures everyone’s safety.”

CUPE says the Sask. Party government has refused to mandate universal masking in schools, even though children born after 2009 are not yet eligible for vaccination.

The union says the government’s failure to put together a strong plan for the return to school this fall endangers not only students and staff, but the entire province.

CUPE members are calling on the province to implement clear standards for in-person education during this pandemic, including universal masking, a continuation of strengthened cleaning protocols, and well-functioning ventilation systems.