Pigs at the trough

[cottonpicken]

SGEU wants 27% pay increase?
In my next life i'm going to work for the government.

[rainman]

Those people are on strike more than they work!

[wmoebis]

What gets me with this and all other strikes is. In this one they have been without contract since Sept 30th. They have had three years knowing this date was comming and haven't resolved ahead of time.
Both barganing teams should be fired. New contract should be settled way in advance, that is what barganing units are paid to do.

[just_wondering]

They won't strike over Christmas, this is just a reminder to Calvert, who realy runs the show. Just in time for the next election cycle in the new year.

[carebear300]

I have a thought, maybe the negotiation teams for both sides should be fired immediately and fined the amount of money that they have been paid to negotiate a new contract up until now. It seems ludicrous that reasonable individuals can't come to a reasonable agreement for both sides over a period of two years. But I guess if nobody tries to be reasonable this is what happens, and the sad fact is that is the way it happens every time with government contracts. It might have something to do with giving management big raises in the meantime. If I think this, because I have been big time anti labour all my life, how many other people are thinking this way?

[cowman]

Carebear: I too have been anti-labor all my life. Now that doesn't mean I think the working Joe should be treated like a dog, but that there has to be a better way to solve labor problems than strikes or lockouts?
Sometimes I can see that might be necessary in private businesses...but surely not in the public sector?
I truly believe no one ever wins in a strike.
When I was a young man I worked in a union packing plant. And quite frankly the union bosses were nothing but a bunch of trouble makers whose main idea was to protect the drunks and bums! I just didn't get it? The company treated us very well...in my opinion...if you were there to give an honest days work for an honest days pay? In fact they treated us very well!
In about 1984 the union decided we should go on strike for a higher wage. I think the plant was closed for about 2 months. Well I had a young family and the idea of sitting around collecting a few bucks in strike pay wasn't all that appealing...so I headed to the rigs and never went back! A few years later this modern up to date plant closed down because the union basically made it impossible to compete with Cargill and IBP!

[furrowtickler]

Good point cowman, Meadow Lake pulp and paper mill - same situation. People gwtting paid way too much to sweep a floor. I think something has to give in Fort Mac sooner or later.Every bubble bursts when stretched too far.

[wmoebis]

Count the unions our grain goes through before it gets on the boat and that all comes out of our pockets.

[SASKFARMER3]

The Unions know the writings on the wall for CALVET and the NDP and they are trying for one last big wage increase before the Sask Party becomes govt.

[carebear300]

How do you get around these government unions? Do you contract this work all out? Do you privatize all government departments? We are so far down this road with unions I don't know how else you bring them back to reality.

[cowman]

In the county I live in they did just that! Five years ago! Let all the union workers go and contracted most of it out.
The Reeve claims it saves the county $1.5 million a year, which on a $15.7 million dollar operating budget is pretty good? And remember that budget of $15.7 is way up because of the crazy growth around here and all the developement?
Now some people claim the service has gone down and the roads are poorer but in fact more money is being put into road construction and gravel than pre-privatization...a lot more! It is hard to compare five years ago to, today because the traffic has probably tripled due to all the oil and gas activity!
You always get complainers who look at only one side...while benifitting in a big way from that progress? In this county all the residential and farmland taxes account for less than 30% of the county revenue.
Surface leases, pipelines, compressor stations etc. have put a lot of dollars in the local farmers pockets. In fact it saved a lot of them from going under the last few years!