Nurses Strike, Premier Romanow And The 22% |
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By Mario deSantis, April 11, 1999 | |
Romanow.. |
Premier Romanow said Friday that he was appalled by the nurses' actions to defy the | |
back to work legislation and stated that their defiance violates the principles of a civilized | ||
and democratic society(1). Poor Romanow, after so many years of being an insipid and | ||
reactionary politician(2), he has forgotten that "good faith" is the fundamental principle | ||
of our civilized relationships(3). Romanow goes on to say that he believes nurses are | ||
fundamentally law abiding citizens without realizing that he and his friend Brian | ||
Rourke(4), Chair of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO), | ||
are at the same time lawmakers and outlaws(5) (6). Saturday's StarPhoenix has one full | ||
page advertisement sponsored by the Saskatchewan government and reports Romanow's | ||
statements: | ||
"...The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses walked away from the best contract offer they've ever received...This dispute is about money: 22% is too much..." |
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The interference of Premier Romanow... |
Collective bargaining is the responsibility of the bargaining agents, in this case the | |
responsibility of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) and SAHO, yet this | ||
advertisement has the stamp of the Government of Saskatchewan. The interference | ||
of Premier Romanow and of the government he represents affects every agency, | ||
every business, every citizen of this province(7). Big Brother Romanow is now busy | ||
interfering again with the negotiation processes between the Service Employees | ||
International Union (SEIU) and SAHO in order to avert another strike in health care. | ||
the health budget is one of the highest in the country at 39.5% of public expenditures |
Premier Romanow has become a negotiator and rightly so, after so many years of | |
governmental mismanagement and lower expectations there is no more money to | ||
reward good working employees. Too much money has been given away to pad the | ||
salaries of CEOs of district health boards, to try to implement a messy Saskatchewan | ||
Health Information network (SHIN), to fix the Y2K nightmare, to buy an expensive | ||
payroll system, to close the Plains Hospital, to try to implement Telehealth, and so | ||
fourth. The fact that hundred(s) of millions of dollars have been misallocated and that | ||
the health budget is one of the highest in the country at 39.5% of public expenditures | ||
is a blatant evidence of an endemic problem of our political leadership. | ||
Romanow's fault in not being able to create and maintain a healthy social and economic system |
Premier Romanow is right to say that 22% is too much, but 22% is not too much | |
because of the nurses' fault, it is Romanow's fault in not being able to create and | ||
maintain a healthy social and economic system, including healthcare. The 22% is | ||
not a collective bargaining issue, it is a statement of the corrupted behaviour of our | ||
political leaders and our consequential inability to express our individual freedoms. | ||
-------Endnotes: | ||
Districts up ante: Injunction sought to force nurses to end illegal strike, by Mark Wyatt, The StarPhoenix, April 10, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. | ||
A short commentary on the budget: A Number Game, by Mario deSantis, April 1, 1999. Published in North Central Internet News | ||
Bad Faith of Honourable Romanow: Back to Work Legislation for Nurses, by Mario deSantis, April 9, 1999, 9:00 AM. Published in North Central Internet News | ||
Never enough money for SAHO, by Mario deSantis, March 31, 1999 Published in North Central Internet News | ||
An ominous suspicion: has SAHO corrupted the pension fund?, by Mario deSantis, February 15, 1999. Published in North Central Internet News | ||
Is the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) above the Law?, by Mario deSantis, October 29, 1998. Published in North Central Internet News | ||
Saskatchewan Tin Pot Dictatorships: Lack of Integrity is Lack of Leadership, by Mario deSantis, February 7, 1999. Published in North Central Internet News |