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“It’s infuriating for our members to see this government waste billions of dollars on fiscal mismanagement while skimping on finding appropriate funding for public services and programs and the workers who deliver them.” — Bob Bymoen, SGEU President
Regina (11 Jan. 2019) — Bob Bymoen, President of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union (SGEU/NUPGE), is questioning why the Sask. Party government is wasting more money on a private consultant and severance payouts to a former CEO in order to rescue itself from its own multi-million-dollar mistakes, but continues to find there's no money for essential public service workers.
Sask. Party has no problem wasting the public's money hiring consultants
According to the government, the CEO of the Global Transportation Hub (GTH) has been dismissed, and the board of directors is in the process of hiring a third-party company to lead the divestment of the GTH.
“We have been asking for months: Where did the money go? And once again the Sask. Party government has shown that millions upon millions of dollars have been wasted by pure fiscal incompetence. What is this government’s priority? Is it to provide fair compensation to essential workers, or to give excessive compensation to high-priced consultants to help it recover from its own blunders?” asked Bymoen. “Our members provide important public services to the people of Saskatchewan, but the GTH has been nothing but a burden on taxpayers from its inception, and yet its high-paid CEO is being handed a huge severance payout.”
The government has not provided any details about the additional costs associated with its latest announcement about the GTH. However, according to the employment contract, departing CEO Bryan Richards, is entitled to a minimum of almost $200,000 in severance pay.
Hiring more consultants means no money for public services
SGEU/NUPGE members have been without a contract for over 2 years and the Sask. Party government has made little progress in bringing any fair contract proposals to the table.
“It’s infuriating for our members to see this government waste billions of dollars on fiscal mismanagement while skimping on finding appropriate funding for public services and programs and the workers who deliver them,” said Bymoen.