Union federation ready to rumble against provincial budget cuts

The Saskatchewan Party government’s controversial plan to halve a $1.2 billion deficit this year continues to generate concern and even outrage six months after its release, most recently from the province’s largest labour organization.

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL), which represents about 100,000 unionized workers, plans to protest the 2017-18 budget in front of the government’s Saskatoon cabinet office today as part of its annual convention.

While the federation’s membership is diverse, its main concerns are a proposed 3.5 per cent wage cut for public servants and Bill 40, which allows the partial sale of Crown corporations, according to its polarizing and long-serving president.

“The effects of this budget are long-lasting and continuous, and there are lots of organizations that are being affected by it,” Larry Hubich said in an interview on Tuesday.

The SFL has previously staged rallies, but Hubich said the protest planned for today is “underlined more” because of the seriousness of the cuts and the backdrop of upcoming reductions to corporate income tax rates.

The Sask. Party has since reversed several cuts despite its pledge not to do so, but the proposed wage cut and what Hubich called other “big-ticket” items remain in place. Wall said in August that he is open to reconsidering Bill 40.

Asked whether continued protests can be effective, Hubich said he thinks they can be.

“If the government doesn’t pay attention … they’ll pay a price. The last two byelections should be sending them a real signal that people are not prepared to accept these kind of (cuts).”

University of Saskatchewan political scientist Greg Poelzer said while concerns about the 201718 budget are less dramatic than those expressed during former NDP Premier Roy Romanow’s tenure, he is not surprised that it has become a “flashpoint” for protest.

“There is a general sense that the last budget pushed up against the outer edges of (Saskatchewan’s) social consensus and perhaps in a number of areas pushed over the edge of what ought and ought not be cut in a budget,” he said.

The SFL convention, which runs through Friday at TCU Place, is also expected to address issues such as the role of organized labour in reconciliation, cannabis in the workplace and the potential for good jobs in renewable energy generation.

The last two byelections should be sending them a real signal that people are not prepared to accept these kind of (cuts).