‘Being unpredictable:’ Union for Saskatchewan Crown workers changing up tactics

Affected employees work at SaskTel, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskWater, DirectWest, SecurTek and the Water Security Agency. (File Photo: Unifor Canada/Facebook)

REGINA — Saskatchewan Crown employees were planning to leave picket lines and return to their jobs for at least one day to give both sides in stalled contract talks a chance to get back to the bargaining table.

More than 5,000 workers walked off the job at various locations Friday at six Crown corporations and one Crown agency.

Chris Macdonald with Unifor said employees would be working to rule on Tuesday to show the Saskatchewan government that they can be unpredictable.

“We’re going to give the government and the company an opportunity to get back to the bargaining table,” he said Monday.

“If not, then we will escalate our actions again. But certainly this is about giving folks a time to show them that we can move resources around. We can be disruptive or we can be co-operative.”

There was no immediate response from the province.

Affected employees work at SaskTel, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskWater, DirectWest, SecurTek and the Water Security Agency.

Macdonald said full-scale picket lines went up Monday at SaskTel call centres in Saskatoon and Regina so as to shut out management. Similar action was taken at the Poplar River Power Plant in Coronach, Sask.

“This has all been about us being unpredictable,” Macdonald said.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who was to leave the province Monday on an overseas trade mission, has said he believes the government’s offer of a five per cent increase over five years is fair.

The union, which says that offer includes wage freezes, is seeking pay raises of two per cent in each of 2019, 2020 and 2021.