REGINA—As the province-wide service disruption enters its third week, Unifor has offered to go to binding arbitration on outstanding monetary issues with employers.

“Unifor members want to return to serving the people of Saskatchewan, but they won’t do it without a fair contract or a commitment from the Crowns to arbitration,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “If the Crowns agree to this reasonable offer, nearly 5,000 Crown workers could be back at work tomorrow.”

After coming to an agreement on a framework for non-monetary items with Crown employers, Unifor bargaining committees believe binding arbitration is the best path forward. The employers have been prevented from bargaining monetary issues by the Scott Moe government’s wage freeze mandate.

“Unifor has engaged in serious and good faith bargaining for months, only to be obstructed by an arbitrary wage target set by the provincial government,” said Dias. “We’re recommending that an arbitrator consider our proposals and the economic position of the Crowns to determine what a fair monetary settlement would look like.”