Media Releases

This election, Sask. People have the chance to elect a government that will put workers first

As the campaign for the provincial election officially gets underway, Saskatchewan people have a clear choice: re-electing a government that has made cuts to health care, education and public services, sold off crown corporations and made life harder for working people, or choosing a new government that will put workers first, and make investments in the public services we all depend on.

Provincial budget fails to put workers first

Today’s provincial budget missed an opportunity to invest in Saskatchewan’s workers, continuing an unfortunate pattern with the current provincial government.

Frontline heroes are worth more than 13 cents

Today, the Government of Saskatchewan announced an embarrassing change to the province’s minimum wage – moving from $11.32 per hour to $11.45 per hour. The announced change does not take effective until October 1, 2020.

SFL celebrates May Day by launching campaign to put workers first

May 1st – May Day – is International Workers’ Day, an opportunity to celebrate workers and their accomplishments. It’s also an opportunity to highlight the challenges many workers face today, and look ahead to what kind of province we want as we rebuild from COVID-19.

Day of Mourning recognition must come with commitment to keep workers safe

Tomorrow, April 28th, is the National Day of Mourning for workers killed and injured on the job. It also marks the first time the Government of Saskatchewan will fly flags at half-mast in recognition of workers who died on the job.

Provincial government must mandate presumptive WCB coverage for workers with COVID-19

“Workers are on the frontlines of this pandemic. From nurses and pharmacists, to grocery store clerks and delivery truck drivers, working people are bravely putting themselves at risk to provide critical services to the people of Saskatchewan,” said SFL President Lori Johb, “an increased exposure to COVID-19 is one such risk,” she added.

Provincial government must implement sweeping COVID-19 response focused on workers

“Now is not the time for half-measures or boutique benefits that apply to narrow groups of people. It’s time for a comprehensive, sweeping response to COVID-19 that focuses on the real wealth-creators in our economy – working people,” said SFL President Lori Johb, “workers are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, and their families are starting to feel the economic pain of self-isolation, lost shifts, childcare, businesses closing their doors, and only limited responses from the provincial government to help,” she added.

SFL STATEMENT - Update from the Saskatchewan Federation of labour on COVID-19

Provincial budget must include COVID-19 economic plan for workers and the public

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) is calling on the provincial government to deliver a budget on Wednesday that includes a COVID-19 economic plan for workers and the public.

Paid sick days for Saskatchewan workers needed to fight COVID19 pandemic

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) is calling on the provincial government to quickly adopt a law for paid sick days for Saskatchewan workers.

Fatalities and Serious Injuries Strategy is a good first step to safer workplaces

December 2, 2019 New Fatalities and Serious Injuries Strategy is a good first step to safer workplaces Nearly a year to the day since the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) first called for a robust strategy to address workplace deaths and injuries, the new strategy released by WorkSafe Saskatchewan is a good first step to safer workplaces. “While it took longer than we had hoped, the federation of labour is happy to see the release of this new strategy,” said SFL President Lori Johb, “working people were consulted throughout the process of developing the new strategy, and I truly believe the professionals at the Saskatchewan WCB really do want to address the crisis we are seeing in workplace deaths and injuries in this province,” she added. Based on a new WCB internal definition of a serious injury, 22,594 Saskatchewan workers suffered a serious injury from 2010-2018. In that same time period, 354 fatalities were accepted by the WCB. “No worker should ever be killed or injured as a result of their job,” said Johb, “we have a long way to go; it’s our hope this strategy will point our province in the right direction,” she added. While the new strategy includes many aspects to be optimistic about, there are a number of things the provincial government can do right now to help create safer workplaces: Publish all incident and investigation reports online; Require OH&S committees to file meeting minutes with the OH&S Division; Review how WorkSafe’s Mission: Zero enforces its Health and Safety Leadership Charter; Update and expand the Young Worker Readiness Certificate course, and move the course from being from online to being delivered and tested in-person, and; Expand rights to include the right to refuse unsafe work on behalf of someone else. – 30 – For additional information, contact: Kent Peterson Strategic Advisor Saskatchewan Federation of Labour 1 (306) 570-1855 k.peterson@sfl.sk.ca

Four paths forward to address Saskatchewan’s workplace fatalities and injuries crisis

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) is calling on the provincial government to immediately take action on four important paths forward to address Saskatchewan’s workplace fatalities and injuries crisis: