Former NDP premier says new premier lied to voters during election campaign
Regina (7 March 2008) - The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) says two anti-labour bills introduced this week by the province's pro-business government are among the most regressive in Canada.
The first, the Public Service Essential Services Act, would force employers and unions to establish essential services agreements 90 days before existing contracts expire. Where no agreement is reached, employers could dictate.
The second, which amends the Trade Union Act, would require a written support level of 45% for new unions to even get the right to a vote on certification, and would require a vote even if the union shows a clear majority of employees have signed union cards.
"It appears that this legislation, at least in my opinion, is the worst legislation for workers in the country," says SFL president Larry Hubich. "It isn't competitive by any stretch of the imagination. It is the bottom of the barrel. Both pieces."
Hubich said the essential services law "opens the door wide up ... to sweeping in every worker in the province."
Former NDP premier Lorne Calvert blasted the government for introducing essential services legislation, citing it as proof that Saskatchewan Party Premier Brad Wall misled voters during the election campaign that brought him to power.
"They lied to the people of Saskatchewan," said Calvert. "Obviously they knew what they were going to do and obviously they lied to the people of Saskatchewan."
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring that our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
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