First public sector union rejects 3.5% wage rollback

SASKATOON The union representing almost 1,800 SaskPower workers voted overwhelmingly against a 3.5 per cent wage cut proposed by the provincial government, according to the president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour.

Around 81 per cent of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW ) Local 2067 members voted against the contract on Oct. 16, said Larry Hubich, whose organization represents around 100,000 unionized workers in the province.

“It shouldn’t come as a surprise to the government,” said Hubich, who has previously predicted that none of the 25 public sector unions whose contracts are up for negotiation this year is likely to agree to lower wages.

“Workers are not going to accept a wage rollback to pay for the government’s incompetence and the massive debt that they’ve run up,” he added.

IBEW Local 2067 representatives were not immediately available for comment.

“SaskPower is committed to returning back to the negotiation table,” Jordan Jackle, a spokesman for the Crown corporation, wrote in an email.

Premier Brad Wall unveiled the wage rollback ahead of the government’s unpopular 2017-18 budget, which aims to halve a $1.2 billion deficit. The government initially said the cuts could save $250 million in this year, but later reduced that estimate to $125 million.

The Saskatchewan Party government will continue to support its employers’ efforts to reach agreements with unions that reduce overall compensation costs by 3.5 per cent, government spokeswoman Kathy Young said in an email.