Public Service Alliance of Canada members took the picket line to the New Brunswick legislature on Thursday after Premier Blaine Higgs made statements telling the federal government not to give in to the union’s demands.
Higgs told the Telegraph-Journal earlier this week that the federal government “should hold the line,” speaking about its offer to the union.
Daniel Frost said this is about respect – from everyone.
“Blaine Higgs put out a thing there, you know, ‘Justin, don’t give in to them.’ Well, you know what, I don’t think he had that right,” Frost said. “What do we want? Respect.”
The crowd could be heard also chanting: “Stay in your lane Blaine.”
Higgs and the Progressive Conservative government have a storied history with collective bargaining, including a 16-day strike by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in November 2021.
The provincial teachers union is also negotiating a contract with the government, for which they say they’re being squeezed out of fair wages and improved working conditions.
“We worked all during the pandemic. We haven’t had a decent raise and all we want is respect,” Frost said.
He said respect is not something the premier showed when he made his comments.
Picket captain Karla Whitton said the comments were disrespectful but were not a surprise. She believes Higgs is trying to distract from his own issues with organized labour.
“He’s shown that over the last year, two, three years, time and time again,” she said. “We’re New Brunswick citizens too. Yes, we work for the federal government but we’re here, we pay provincial taxes just like anybody else.”
Whitton took aim at the fact that the federal MPs gave themselves a raise but are unwilling to do so for the public service.
“If you look at what we’re asking for, it’s peanuts,” she said.
The union’s call for higher pay is a bid to help public service workers keep up with the cost of living in New Brunswick, something that is steadily increasing.
Amanda Sykes said she loves her job and living here, but she said it’s about fairness.
“Public Service Alliance of Canada is one of the biggest unions in Canada. The federal government is one of the biggest employers. We need to set the bar for what’s acceptable for everybody,” she said.
All workers Global News spoke to said they’ll stay on the picket line as long as it takes.
Global News reached out to the premier’s office for comment and will update this story once a response is received.
Comments