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"Our right to be consulted - in a meaningful way - is supported by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, international law, and, most recently, in Justice Dennis Ball's landmark ruling that found our government's essential services law to be illegal," he adds.
Regina (13 June 2012) - The Saskatchewan government appears to be precariously close to once again violating the rights of Saskatchewan working people in the flawed - and possibly illegal - consultation process set up for the review of all of the province's labour legislation, according to the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union (SGEU/NUPGE).
"This is not meaningful consultation. Not only is the time frame ridiculously short, but it now appears that the list of groups handpicked by government to make a submission is heavily weighted in favour of employers," says SGEU President Bob Bymoen.
Of the 666 groups who received invitations, the vast majority have an employer's interest in these issues.
"An extra effort seems to have been made to hear from employers. For example, not only did the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) receive an invitation, so did 441 individual rural municipalities," points out Bymoen.
The story is the same for school divisions, health employer groups and the provincial government. The parent association is invited to speak, as well as each individual member, yet that is not the case with labour.
On the private sector-side, invitations were extended to no fewer than nine construction employer groups. This includes the Merit Contractors Association, which is behind a national public advertising campaign to discredit unions.
"This is a consultation process about labour laws. Of the 666 groups invited, only 40 are groups that represent working people. How can this be fair?" asks Bymoen.
"How will the government weigh the submissions it receives? We just don't know. Government has not been forthcoming about its consultation process. On the face of it, it seems that the voices of working people will be vastly outnumbered," added Bymoen.
"Government has a moral and ethical duty to consult its citizens when making significant changes to laws that affect our daily lives. It also has a legal responsibility - not just to set up a consultation process - but to ensure the process is meaningful," Bymoen says.
"Our right to be consulted - in a meaningful way - is supported by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, international law, and, most recently, in Justice Dennis Ball's landmark ruling that found our government's essential services law to be illegal," he adds.
"Since there will be no public hearings, and parties were only given 90 days to make written submissions commenting on 15 pieces of legislation, it appears that government does not really want to hear what its citizens have to say about the laws that govern one of the most fundamental aspects of their daily existence - their work lives," Bymoen says.
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE