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Province-wide initiative announced to combat workplace injuries due to violence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 April 27, 2017

PREMIER GOES TO BIG-MONEY, CASH-FOR-ACCESS FUNDRAISER GIVING THE GIFT OF BILL 40

The Sask. Party government rammed Bill 40 – its latest betrayal to Saskatchewan people – through the Legislature yesterday, just in time for the premier’s big-money, cash-for-access schmoozefest with Sask. Party donors.

 “Bill 40 is the Sask. Party government’s Crown corporation privatization law. It’s the piece of legislation that allows the Sask. Party government to chop up and sell-off SaskTel and other Crowns through the backdoor – without asking Saskatchewan voters,” said Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL), “Bill 40 is a betrayal to Saskatchewan people, and it was passed just in time for the premier’s ritzy fundraiser, where rich businessmen can schmooze with the premier for as much as $5000 a piece,” he added.

 The premier’s dinner Sask. Party fundraiser takes place tonight, April 27th, in Saskatoon.

 “There is no doubt in my mind that Bill 40 was rammed through the Legislature so the premier could get up in front of his biggest corporate donors and wave our Crowns around like prized possessions at a live auction, where huge corporations can start the bidding to destroy the Crowns that belong to Saskatchewan people,” said Hubich.

 There is a protest taking place at the premier’s dinner tonight. The demonstration starts at 5:00PM at Prairieland Park (near the gates at Herman Avenue and Ruth Street).

 “I expect there will be a good showing of folks out to show their dissatisfaction with Bill 40 and the disastrous effects it will have on Crown dividends, service across the province, and of course the good jobs Crowns provide for communities around Saskatchewan,” said Hubich, “many people are also very concerned about other Sask. Party decisions – such as attacks on our education system, healthcare upheaval, out-of-control spending on privatization projects, and a long list of other cuts,” he added.

For additional information, contact:

Kent Peterson

Strategic Advisor

Saskatchewan Federation of Labour

e: k.peterson@sfl.sk.ca

Unions and families of workers killed on the job are asking the federal government to do more to enforce laws holding employers criminally accountable for workplace death and injury. The call will be the focus of cross-Canada events marking this Friday’s National Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job. The CLC is also launching an online petition at RememberWestray.ca.

This year’s Day of Mourning falls just days before the 25th anniversary of the May 9, 1992 Westray Mine explosion that claimed the lives of 26 miners working underground. Years of determined lobbying by the miners’ families and their union, the United Steelworkers, won new Criminal Code provisions in 2004 making it possible to prosecute employers for negligence leading to workplace death and injury. However, in the past 13 years, only four employers have been prosecuted under the Westray Law.

“Lack of enforcement is costing lives. Too many workplace fatalities are never properly investigated and only a handful have resulted in criminal charges,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“We need the federal government to take the lead by bringing the provinces and territories together as soon as possible to build an urgent action plan on enforcement,” he added.
In Canada, roughly 1,000 workers die every year because of something that happened to them at work, and thousands more are seriously injured. While not every workplace fatality is caused by employer negligence, health and safety advocates say every fatality must be treated as a potential crime.

“When criminal negligence results in a worker’s death, it is a crime and should be treated that way,” said USW National Director for Canada Ken Neumann.
Christian Bruneau’s son Olivier was killed by falling ice at an Ottawa construction site in 2016. Bruneau says better enforcement would have prevented his son’s death.

“There is no doubt in my mind that if the Westray Law was being effectively enforced, no worker would have been allowed into the pit where my son was killed,” said Bruneau. “The fear of going to jail would have outweighed the quest for profits.”

Allen Martin’s brother, Glenn David Martin, was one of the 26 coal miners who lost their lives in the Westray Mine explosion. He says the federal government has an opportunity to ensure that his brother – and the 25 other miners lost that day – did not die in vain.

“The Westray families don’t want to see anyone else suffering the way we have. We need the federal government to honour the memory of the men we lost by acting now to finally, and decisively, ensure enforcement of the law that is their legacy,” said Martin.

The CLC says an urgent action plan developed by federal, provincial, and territorial governments must include:

• training and directing Crown prosecutors to apply the Westray provisions of the Criminal Code;
• appointing dedicated prosecutors for workplace health and safety fatalities, and training and directing police to apply the Westray provisions of the Criminal Code;
• ensuring regulators, police and Crown attorneys are coordinating. Health and safety regulators must be reaching out to police when Westray charges might be warranted.

The federal government also has a responsibility to get its own house in order by:

• training its own health and safety officers to view every workplace fatality under federal jurisdiction as a potential crime scene. That includes coordinating with police in their investigations;
• ensuring the RCMP is trained and directed to consider the possibility of criminal negligence whenever a worker is killed or seriously injured on the job.

To read about Locals on the: PicketLine

Dear Friends and Community Members,

As some of you know I am bringing a motion to Regina City Council on April 24 that would see the City affirm its support for Crown Corporations and oppose the privatization of these important public enterprises. A copy of the motion is pasted below.

I need your support. What can you do to help?

1.     Spread word in Regina and encourage friends and allies to attend the April 24 Council meetings as a delegate. Report must be submitted to the Clerk’s office by April 19 by emailing clerks@regina.ca. Tell Council why privatization could jeopardize jobs and economic activity in Regina.

2.     Write letters to the editor or social media posts supporting the motion.

3.     Tell Council and the Mayor what you think. Submit comments through the Contact Us page on the City website: http://www.regina.ca/site/contact/

4.     Speak to the community impact of Crowns.

5.  Spread the word!

Why should you participate in this process?

1.     Council meetings are televised and live-streamed, giving opponents of Bill 40 tremendous visibility and press.

2.     Council meetings are always attended by the media.

3.     Council and the City as a whole are increasingly feeling frustrated by the government. The opportunity is there to solicit support from unlikely allies in our community.

Feel free to drop me a line should you have any questions. My phone number is 306-570-1402. You can email me at astevens@regina.ca.

Additional information can be found here, on my website: http://www.andrewstevensward3.ca/keep_the_crowns_in_public_hands

In Solidarity,

Andrew Stevens

City Councillor, Ward 3

WHEREAS large Crown Corporations like SaskTel, SaskPower, SGI, and SaskEnergy are headquartered in Regina; and

WHEREAS these and other Crown Corporations directly employ over 10,000 people in the province; and

WHEREAS over half of all Crown Corporation employees, or approximately 6,600 workers, are employed in Regina; and

WHEREAS Crown Corporations, like SaskTel, are important financial contributors to community events and organizations throughout the province; and

WHEREAS Crown Corporations offers high quality and affordable telecommunications services and infrastructure, automobile insurance, power, and energy services for public and private sector employers in Regina; and

WHEREAS SaskTel alone returned, on average, $82.99 million in dividends per year to the public treasury between 2001 and 2015; and

WHEREAS the Crown Corporations returned approximately $102 million in revenue to the City of Regina as grants in-lieu of property taxes between 2011 and 2015;

WHEREAS the complete or partial privatization of Crown Corporations could jeopardize these benefits for the residents of Regina and the province.

THEREFORE be it resolved that:

1. City Council rejects calls by the provincial government to privatize any portion of Saskatchewan’s Crown Corporations.

2. City Council affirms the economic benefit of wholly-publicly owned Crown Corporations for the City of Regina.

3. The outcome of this motion be communicated to the Ministers responsible for the respective Crown Corporations by letter from Mayor Fougere on behalf of City Council.

Respectfully submitted,

Andrew Stevens

Councillor Ward 3

C-27 Letter on MOF Invitation

Form letter to send to your MP:  C-27 MOF letter

Read the Federal Budget Briefing Note to learn more: Budget 2017 Briefing Notes for Local Unions

Dear staff and locals,

As a political union, Unifor takes an active role to influence government policy and defend the needs of workers. The work of our union is vast; it’s diverse and central to strengthen the gains made at the bargaining table, and it involves lobbying for a budget that works for us.

Unifor takes part not only in the federal government’s pre-budget consultations, but sends representatives to the annual federal Budget Day lockup to get an early view of the budget, analyze it and comment on what on the new spending plan and how workers in our union may be impacted. For every government, the budget is their primary political document. It is where governments set top priorities by spelling out what actions its ministries are committing money to and what new public policy measures will be implemented.

Given the importance and impact the federal budget has on our union and the lives of every worker, Unifor Economist Jordan Brennan has prepared a brief analysis to understand what’s in the budget.

Read the short-two pager Federal Budget Brief that is attached to this email to better understand the impact it might have on the members you represent and your community.

To help inform members of your Local Union share this document or post a link on your local website or Facebook group. Here is the link to share:  unifor.org/federalbudget

In brief, you should know that the first budget from the new Liberal government in 2016 was a welcome change from the attacks on working people we saw under the previous Conservative government. While the 2017 budget offers many continued promises and the first-ever gender-based analysis of the budget, it is short on details in the way of actual money.

Read about it here