We’re not gonna take it – that was the message from the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) at a rally held outside the Saskatoon cabinet office over the noon hour Wednesday.
Accompanied by a musical ensemble playing the hit song by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister, members of the SFL kicked off their annual convention by marching against cuts made in the latest provincial budget.
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“Does the province have some problems when it comes to low commodity prices? Certainly, but there are two approach when you have a downturn in the economy,” SFL president Larry Hubich said.
“One is to engage in austerity, which doesn’t work and has been denounced by many organizations, and the other is to actually invest in social infrastructure, invest in communities, invest in students.”
The group also voiced their concerns for the future of the province’s Crown corporations.
The SFL president said the group is re-engaging in the fight against decisions by the provincial government ahead of the fall session.
“We’re re-energized to do what we need to do to defend workers’ rights, to call out the terrible cuts made in the austerity budget of March. We’re calling out that phony Bill 40 for what it really is,” Hubich said.
“We need to continue.”
This week, over 480 delegates are attending the 62nd annual SFL convention at TCU Place in Saskatoon. The convention is also expected to touch on issues like cannabis in the workplace, union jobs in a green economy and reconciliation within organized labour.
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