Workers deserve better than 3.5% wage cut

People are paying for irresponsibility of government, writes Bob Bymoen.

The Saskatchewan Party government’s throne speech last month said, “Saskatchewan has enjoyed a decade of growth.” In fact, it mentioned our province’s “decade of growth” not once, but six times.

This unprecedented time of growth wouldn’t have been possible without working people. Even the throne speech admits this, pointing out that “Saskatchewan people are responsible for the progress of the past decade.”

Despite this, the Wall government wants public sector workers to take a 3.5-per-cent compensation cut. These are the people who have been working to improve the lives of Saskatchewan families. They are the front-line workers who fight wildfires, keep vulnerable kids safe, care for seniors, plow our highways, work in correctional centres, train young people for the jobs of the future, and much more. But government wants to claw back their wages and benefits. That’s the thanks they get for working to keep our families safe and healthy and our province growing.

Rather than acknowledging workers’ contributions, the Sask. Party government is making Saskatchewan people pay. Families are paying more for insurance premiums, more for children’s clothes, more for restaurant meals and higher PST on everything. For many in this province, including public sector workers, the cost of living has gone up, making life harder and less affordable.

On top of this, public employees are expected to pay even more — by taking a pay cut that would have them end this “decade of growth” worse off than they were when they entered it.

The Wall government has been imposing wage restraint on the public sector ever since it took power. Contrary to what this government would have you believe, SGEU members and thousands of other public sector workers didn’t benefit from the boom. While Saskatchewan was experiencing a surging economy and record-breaking revenues, these workers’ wages barely kept up with inflation. After a 3.5-per-cent wage cut, public employees would earn substantially less now than they did a decade ago.

To make matters worse, the provincial government is trying to direct people’s anger over the deficit at public employees. Earlier this month, in an attempt to justify the proposed wage cut, Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said her government “somehow” has to “make ends meet.”

Is she insinuating that if public sector staff don’t agree to a wage cut, it will be their fault if government goes further into debt? It’s not the fault of health-care workers that this government squandered our rainy day fund. It’s not the fault of teachers, or conservation officers or corrections workers that this government wasted $33 million on Lean, spent $20 million too much on shady Global Transportation Hub land deals, and spent hundreds of millions on consultants when ministry staff could have done the same job for less.

This government wasted the revenues from our decade of growth, and put us deeper into debt. If Wall wants to save money by cutting government wages, he should start by cutting the 74-percent payroll increase he gave to his senior political staff between 2009 and 2016.

Instead, it seems the government’s only plan to address the deficit is to take money out of working people’s pockets. Not only will this directly hurt Saskatchewan families, it will also hurt local economies. Public employees spend their wages in their communities. Their purchases help stimulate economic activity, benefiting everyone in the province. When people are struggling to pay their bills and provide the essentials for their families, they’re less likely to spend as much in local stores and restaurants.

Despite the past decade of growth, our province is struggling to get by thanks to the financial irresponsibility of the Sask. Party government. We, as taxpayers and Saskatchewan citizens, deserve better. We deserve a provincial government that doesn’t blame its employees for the mess it created. And we deserve a better budget strategy than wage cuts for the people who deliver our public services.

Bob Bymoen is president of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union