Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck was joined by union leaders in Regina as she signed a pledge to protect the province’s Crown corporations from job cuts and privatization. The pledge outlines the party’s commitment to protecting Crown corporations if the NDP form the next provincial government. “The reason we are here is part is because earlier this week the Sask. Party announced that they were going to move to put SGI and SaskTel under one roof,” said Beck. This comes as the province is considering closing SGI’s Regina head office building due to water damage and structural problems. Under the new proposal, SGI employees would relocate to SaskTel’s headquarters, sharing space with hundreds of SaskTel workers already based there. “This is a move that has sparked widespread concern about the future, potential job losses and even potential privatization of these crowns,” Beck said. Representatives from unions representing Crown corporation employees were on hand at the pledge signing which coincided with the start of the NDP’s annual convention in Regina. Among those represented were Unifor, COPE Local 397, the United Steelworkers and UFCW Local 1400. “Is everyone going to be forced into a new building? Or is this a precursor to future privatization to further changes? So certainly the concern about the building is where is this going and what is that leading and they don’t have clear answers from their government and that’s one of the reasons we are here,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. Earlier this week, the premier reminded the legislature that the four major Crown corporations are protected by law from privatization and he provided assurances that no job cuts are planned.
