The labour movement in Saskatchewan has a long, proud history of supporting workers' rights and human rights. It is a tradition that helped build this province and one that all citizens have a hand in maintaining.
"We've been around for over a century in one form or another," said Larry Hubich, president of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL). "In Saskatchewan, we've followed the rich history of the labour movement across the country, and it goes back to the founding of Labour Day in 1872."
The contributions of the labour movement are responsible for statutory holidays like Labour Day, said Hubich, so we owe a debt to those who put energy and effort into giving us all a chance to relax and recharge. It is also a time to remember that some of the comforts we take for granted - such as weekends, employee benefits and even universal healthcare - would likely not be available to us were it not for the efforts of the labour movement.
"In Saskatchewan, we've continued to be on the cutting edge of a lot of things that the labour movement has added to society in Canada and elsewhere," said Hubich. "We were one of the first provinces in Canada that had a trade union act, and we were one of the first places in Canada to have Occupational Health and Safety legislation in 1972."
"We've also been on the forefront of a lot of major advances in worker rights, such as workers' compensation and unemployment insurance."
Ways in which the members of the SFL have helped other workers and citizens do not always involve public campaigns or lobbying government, though - some consist of the simple yet powerful act of caring for one's community. "There's a long history of the labour movement working with social justice groups, church groups, marginalized individuals, and anti-poverty ministries," said Hubich, who added that the SFL also has a strong relationship with the United Way. "We also volunteer at Food Banks, help out at the rinks, coach hockey or baseball, and pitch in at school events."
"We work hard to create a social safety net so that people don't fall through the cracks."
Hubich also pointed out that a lot of people involved in the labour movement work jobs that directly benefit the community. "Firefighters, nurses, healthcare professionals, teachers, occupational therapists are all members of the SFL," he said. "Then we have the people physically building and maintaining our infrastructure, those being the pipefitters, welders and other tradespersons."
The SFL's membership includes agriculture, mining, forestry, manufactur-ing, healthcare, education, retail and wholesale, construction, the public and private Sector, and healthcare workers and professionals
"When you're talking about the economic activity of the province, the contributions of the labour movement cut across all occupational designations and are deeply ingrained in the fibre of our province."
Hubich said the SFL will continue to work collaboratively and co-operatively with business and government to ensure Saskatchewan citizens benefit from the current economic boom. "We have a tradition here of all the citizens pitching to build a province," he said. "Corporations weren't always interested in coming here and investing, so we went out and made it ourselves and the labour movement was a key contributor to that development."
"Living here is a blessing," Hubich added. "We've got economic prosperity, we've got a beautiful and vibrant province and there's a rich tradition of cooperation among all the citizens."
Any views or opinions presented in this feature are solely those of the contributors or interviewees and do not necessarily represent those of the StarPhoenix, the Leader-Post or Postmedia Network
© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
0 comments:
Post a Comment