![Saskatchewan Federation of Labour affiliated unions protest the provincial government’s controversial bills outside the Regina legislature in May 2008. [File Photo]](/images/default-source/bulletin/saskprotestweb.jpg?sfvrsn=0 "SaskProtestWeb.jpg")
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour affiliated unions protest the provincial government’s controversial bills outside the Regina legislature in May 2008. [File Photo]
The International Labour Organisation has issued a stinging rebuke to the government of Saskatchewan over two pieces of anti-labour law adopted in 2008.
The United Nations body has directed the province to go back to the drawing board and rewrite the laws in full consultation and cooperation with workers and labour groups affected.
The complaint against the province was filed in June 2008 by the National Union of Public and General Employees on behalf of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union.
A complaint was also filed by the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour on behalf of more than a dozen other unions in the province.
The two laws at issue were passed less than six months after the Saskatchewan Party was elected in late 2007. The first, An Act Respecting Essential Public Services, defines essential services so broad that practically any public service employee could be designated essential and therefore not allowed strike. It was widely regarded as the most sweeping and heavy-handed essential services legislation in Canada.
The second, An Act to amend the Trade Union Act, drastically reduces the rights of Saskatchewan workers by restricting their ability to join unions and engage in collective bargaining. It also leaves workers with less protection against unfair practices from employers.
The corrective measures recommended by the ILO were prepared by the organization’s Committee on Freedom of Association and adopted by the ILO on March 24. The report instructs the province to:
• hold full consultations with the workers’ and employers’ organizations to restore confidence
• consult with those affected to amend the Public Service Essential Services Act to ensure that the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board examines all aspects relating to the determination of an essential service
• ensure that compensatory guarantees are made available to workers whose right to strike may be restricted and
• make the process more reasonable for workers to decide if they wish to be unionized.
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