NDP labour critic says proposals are so broad all health workers may be declared essential
Regina (21 April 2008) - Essential services legislation introduced by the Saskatchewan Party government of Premier Brad Wall is so broad it could allow all health care workers to be declared essential and thus prevented from taking any job action, says NDP labour critic Andy Iwanchuk.
"Why did they not come out and just say, 'We're taking away the right to strike?'" Iwanchuk told reporters as debate on the issue continued last week.
"We can talk about what that means for bargaining and bargaining power and the rest of that but . . . what does that do to the system if you have a stakeholder such as (nurses) that are in there and are potentially not co-operating with this or understanding this?"
The NDP spokesman was commenting on amendments tabled by the government to legislation first introduced last fall, when the Saskatchewan Party was elected to office.
The proposals require unions and employers to negotiate which workers are essential, but if no agreement is reached, employers can make their own decision, thus forcing unions to appeal to the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board (SLRB) if they disagree.
Meanwhile, the government has fired top members of the board and stacked it with its own appointees to set the stage for the kind of decisions it wants.
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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