Budget must focus on creating good jobs and invest in workers
Released March 18, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2019
Budget must focus on creating good jobs and invest in workers
The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) is calling on the Sask. Party government to use Wednesday’s budget as an opportunity to create good jobs and invest in workers. “Our economy needs good jobs that families can rely on,” said SFL President Lori Johb, “good jobs are long-term, pay a decent wage, include benefits, and allow people to retire with dignity,” she added.
To create good jobs and invest in workers, the SFL will be watching for five main points in Wednesday’s budget:
- Sign Fair Collective Agreements
The government’s previous 3.5% rollback mandate was bad public policy and derailed many bargaining tables. Even after the government abandoned its unworkable rollback, it is still not offering decent wage increases for workers. In the budget, the government must allocate appropriate resources to sign fair deals for workers in the public sector.
- Stop Privatization
Sell-offs, contracting out, P3s, and other forms of privatization are more expensive, they are riskier, and they force people into precarious, lower-paid jobs. To create good jobs, the budget should put a stop to privatization and bring services back into the public sphere.
- Increase Funding to Public Services
Public services make up the very fabric of a strong economy. The Sask. Party government must increase funding to healthcare, education, and other services, and stop the use of expensive private consultants across the board.
- Give Minimum Wage Earners a Raise
Saskatchewan’s minimum wage is the second-worst in Canada. To stimulate local economies and create better jobs, the budget must include a plan to rapidly phase-in a $15/hour minimum wage.
- Shift to Fair Taxation
Hiking consumption taxes, like the PST, negatively impacts workers and low-income families the most. Wednesday’s budget should raise corporate and high-income tax rates, and use that money to invest in local economies across the province.
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For additional information, contact:
Kent Peterson
Strategic Advisor
Saskatchewan Federation of Labour
m: 1 (306) 570-1855
e: k.peterson@sfl.sk.ca
