REGINA – Members of CUPE were sounding the alarm Tuesday following a report into working conditions for education support workers in the province.
At a media availability at the Legislature alongside members of the NDP, CUPE released findings of a new report which showed that their education workers were being asked to perform medical procedures on the job, procedures they are not properly trained or qualified to undertake.
Kent Peterson, President of CUPE Saskatchewan, blamed the situation on Premier Scott Moe’s “cuts.”
“Across Saskatchewan, education support workers are being instructed to perform medical procedures that, were they in a hospital instead of a school, would have to be done by a registered nurse,” Peterson said.
“Education workers, such as EAs, are routinely directed to perform catheterizations on students. These complex medical procedures involve education workers, with no formal medical training, inserting tubing into the bodies of young people to drain urine from bladders. This is being done with no formal medical training or certification.”
He noted education support workers are regularly asked to administer tube feeding, inserting liquid formula into the stomachs or small intestines of students, and that often the “temporary tubing becomes dislodged and education support workers are forced to reattach the tubing before the incision site starts to close up.”
“Education support workers are incredibly intelligent, experienced and skilled, but they are not doctors, they're not nurses and they are not paramedics. They work in schools, not hospitals and should not be expected to perform medical procedures on kids.”
Shandel McLeod, member of CUPE Saskatchewan Education Workers Steering Committee, spoke of some harrowing stories about what education workers have to do.
“In one school, education workers were told they'd be supporting a student with complex needs, but not that they would be responsible for the student's medical care,” she said.
McLeod pointed to workers having to set up tube feedings, administer multiple medications through a feeding tube, and having to monitor for seizures. They were also responsible for full daily care, lifting, cleaning, watching for signs of pain, and responding if something went wrong.
“But many had less than a week of training. Some had less than an hour of training. And they are left asking, if something goes wrong, are we even covered?"
She also pointed to a situation In another school, where a student with diabetes “relies on education workers to check blood sugar levels and give insulin.”
“Many workers were only shown how to do this once, just once, that's it. Now they are expected to give injections, calculate doses, and respond if something goes wrong."
Karla Sastaunik, chairperson of the CUPE Saskatchewan Education Workers Steering Committee, said ;too many education workers are being asked to take on these duties without consistent training or clear direction, and without adequate ongoing support.
“One school division trains one way. Another trains differently. Some members receive refresher training. Others receive none at all. Some have access to nurses and support staff. Others are left to figure things out on their own. That is unacceptable. No education worker should be left wondering if they have received the training they need. No education worker should be left wondering who is responsible when questions or problems arise.”
Matt Love, Education critic for the NDP, said the education workers are “being forced to fill gaps in Saskatchewan education after nearly 20 years of failures by Scott Moe and his Sask Party government.”
Love said the CUPE report is a “clear warning of just how bad that situation has become under this government.”
“Now let me be clear, this province is asking education support workers already stretched thin to administer medical support in classrooms, in many cases without training from a medical professional. Meanwhile, the Education minister, year after year, likes to boast about record investments in education and classroom supports. This report is clear proof that that minister and that Premier are out of touch with the realities in Saskatchewan classrooms.”
Love also said that school boards and leaders in our schools were “doing everything that they can to support Saskatchewan students, often going above and beyond the norm to put the needs of our students first.”
“But we're here today to demand change. A change to chronic underfunding, a change away from a government offloading its responsibilities onto school boards and the professionals who work in our schools.”
As for what CUPE is calling on the government to do, Sastaunik said the top recommendation from the CUPE report is “developing a task force that include us as frontline workers, that include the government, that include the Minister, and that include the Department of Health so that we can figure out what can be done.”
A second ask, she said, is that “we would like the ministry to set clear and defined expectations of what is in our scope of practice for educational assistance. We're crossing boundaries that are in roles or scopes. We're crossing boundaries of what LPNs do. And so that's a problem. And it's ultimately not safe for anybody who's involved in education who's being asked to do this.”
In a statement, the government dismissed the latest demands from the NDP.
"Last week the NDP asked for standards of medical care in School Divisions. This week they are requesting not to have medical care and instead offer actions to be delivered outside the collective bargaining process. So, what will the NDP plan be next week?"
The government said they take education and student needs in the classroom seriously. "Instead of performative politics," they stated, they are taking action by expanding Specialized Support Classroom Model by 50 additional classrooms this year for a total of 108, and funding more classroom complexity teachers through the last round of Collective Bargaining.
They also point to school divisions receiving a record $2.5 billion in operating funding in 2026-27 — an increase of $62.2 million. They also point to school funding increasing over the past three years by around 20 per cent.
"School divisions are responsible for assessing individual student needs and making operational decisions, including staffing; these decisions are made locally to ensure flexibility and responsiveness to community needs, and are made in the best interests of the overall health and safety of students. This is why the no one can take the NDP seriously,' they stated.
