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A tentative agreement has been reached between Unifor and one of the Saskatchewan Crowns that was hit by a strike on Friday.
On Thursday afternoon, the provincial government announced a deal had been reached between the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency and Unifor Local 820. That bargaining unit’s last contract expired in January 2018.
The union represents 140 workers at the agency. They went on strike Friday along with unionized employees at six other Crown corporations — SaskTel, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, SaskWater, SecurTek and Directwest.
Details of the agreement between the Water Security Agency and the local won’t be released until the deal has been ratified.
“I am pleased we have reached a tentative agreement with the Unifor bargaining unit,” Susan Ross, the Water Security Agency’s president and CEO, said in a media release.
“We are thankful for the dedicated efforts of the negotiators representing our employees who have been working hard with our management team to come up with this deal.”
The union wasn’t as happy with the deal. A media release from Unifor said it was “disappointed” to announce the tentative agreement because it “includes the two-year wage freeze imposed by the Scott Moe government.”
“Our union is built on the principle that the power of Unifor is our members, and they make the final decision on the terms of their contracts,” Jerry Dias, Unifor’s national president, said in the release.
“Our Crown members are worth and deserve more than the zeros offered by the Scott Moe government. The majority of striking and locked-out Crown workers remain committed to getting a fair contract — including an inflationary increase similar to what Scott Moe paid himself.”
The union hasn’t been happy with the government’s initial offer, which didn’t include any wage increases for the first two years of the contract.
The media release said the union will recommend that the Water Security Agency members reject the tentative agreement, but it will respect their decision.
Meanwhile, the union will continue its strike against the six other Crowns.
“Crown workers are hard-working, compassionate and resilient. We want fairness and respect from the Moe government,” Ian Davidson, the president of Unifor Local 649 that represents workers at SaskEnergy and SaskPower, said in the union’s release.
“Scott Moe can easily end the service disruption with a respectful offer that includes fair wages and real job security.”
