Battle boils between government and unions
BY JAMES WOOD, THE STARPHOENIX JUNE 24, 2011 7:58 AM
Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall (L) and Saskatchewan environment minister Dustin Duncan (R) tour Weyburn, SK to discuss flooding on June 20, 2011.
Photograph by: Don Healy, Regina Leader-Post
Long-simmering tensions between the Saskatchewan Party government and organized labour escalated to a full boil on Thursday.
Now the question is whether things will cool down before the Nov. 7 provincial election.
With Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. employees striking this week as extreme flooding continued in southern Saskatchewan, Premier Brad Wall issued an ultimatum for them to return to work on Wednesday and followed through Thursday by announcing he would recall the legislature to pass back-to-work legislation.
But Wall also went on the attack against the leadership of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union (SGEU), repeatedly describing the union as being untrustworthy because of the timing of the strike and president Bob Bymoen's comments that the union was acting in a "window of opportunity."
For Saskatchewan Federation of Labour president Larry Hubich - a vocal critic of the government for its essential-services legislation and other changes to labour law - Wall's actions amount to political calculation.
"He's grandstanding. He's making a big stand about it so that he can score a few political points by appearing to be the saviour of rural Saskatchewan. If people can't see that for what it is, then I don't know," he said, adding the crop insurance workers' contract has been open since 2009 and the government has not bargained in good faith.
But Colin Craig of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is strongly supportive of what he described as Wall "standing up" to a public-sector union acting unreasonably.
The government is on the right track generally in taking a firm stance in public-sector negotiations, said Craig, who believes Wall has the public on side.
This has been a season of discontent for labour with the province.
The Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan is in the midst of a lengthy strike and Saskatchewan Cancer Agency workers represented by SGEU have also taken job action. Teachers walked off the job for two days in May but agreed to mediation.
The government has had some recent good news, with tentative agreements reached between SaskPower and IBEW and, on Thursday, SaskTel and CEP.
But the Canadian Office and Professional Employees (COPE) is holding meetings with the SGI employees it represents seeking a mandate for job action.
SaskPower and SaskEnergy workers represented by CEP both also have long-standing open contracts, as do SIAST workers represented by the SGEU.
"The common denominator here is the Wall government," said Garry Hamblin, president of COPE Local 397 and spokesperson for the "Common Front" of Crown corporation unions.
"We're in the middle of the biggest boom this province has ever seen. We're told that every week by this government and yet ... when we go to them for a decent wage increase they turn out their pockets and say there is no money."
University of Saskatchewan political studies Prof. Charles Smith said the political impact of the labour disputes is difficult to gauge though it will likely solidify the bases of both the Sask. Party and the NDP .
For other voters, Wall's stance may tap into public dissatisfaction with unions. But Smith noted the NDP government was hurt when it forced nurses back to work in 1999.
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