Crop insurance union reacts to Premier’s 24 hour ultimatum

Saskatchewan's Premier is looking to force an end to the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) strike that only just began on Tuesday.

The Saskatchewan Government Employees Union (SGEU) walked away from the bargaining table, sending nearly 500 SCIC employees off the job and onto picket lines. They've been without a contract since September of 2009 and the two sides are disagreeing over not only wages but also compensation for employees who use personal vehicles for company tasks.

Now Brad Wall is giving the union an ultimatum instead of another offer. In a letter addressed and sent to SGEU president Bob Bymoen Wednesday morning, he's demanding Bymoen commit to ending the strike within 24 hours or else the government will “take action.” Wall says striking at a time when more than 5 million acres of farm land is going unseeded this year, due mostly to a one in 500 year flood, is “deplorable” and “appalling.”

“People right now that are volunteering to save property and to help communities who are literally quite helpless in the face of unprecedented flooding aren't doing it waiting for some sort of compensation,” he told reporters during an intense interview at the Legislature Wednesday morning. “They're doing it because it's the right thing to do and that's what we need the union leadership to do.”

Wall argues that the services of SCIC employees and adjustors will be sorely needed this summer and numbers provided by the government seem to back that up. So far for 2011 the government is reporting that 5,300 claims for unseeded land have been received, 2,000 of which were received on Tuesday alone. Only 92 claims have been processed this year and that has come to a complete halt because of the strike.

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There are also still 6,200 outstanding claims in the SCIC office from the 2010 year as well.

The Premier isn't saying what “action” could be taken but he confirmed that he could call back the legislature to pass back-to-work legislation if he chooses without triggering a full sitting.

As for what happens next, he's leaving that in Bymoen's hands.

“The ball is in Mr. Bymoen's court now and the court of the SGEU union leadership and we'll wait to hear from them.”

SGEU responds

SGEU representative Allan Evans insists the union isn't being malicious by going on strike.

He says the date employees chose to walk off the job was decided on months ago. Evans concedes that farmers are in trouble right now, but insists the union members work hard to help them.

Evans says striking crop insurance workers are under stress as well, noting it's been nearly two years since their contract expired.

The two sides will meet Wednesday night to resume talks.

Evans says if the union sees progress on the part of the government, they will consider ending the strike.

“Dependent on how the negations go tonight that’s something that we may have to consider. You have to understand that what’s going on here is causing us a lot of anxiety. We’re farmers and rural people too,” said Evans.

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