ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland — Much of Newfoundland’s public service has been paralyzed by the largest strike in the province’s history.
Pickets were set up across the province early Sunday after two unions representing 19,000 public sector workers rejected a last-minute offer from the provincial Liberal government.
The main issues in the massive labor dispute are wages and pensions. No further negotiations were planned by late Sunday and provincial Finance Minister Joan Marie Aylward confirmed the two sides had reached an impasse even though both sides aren’t that far apart.
The strike is considered the first real test of leadership for Premier Roger Grimes, who was sworn in Feb. 13. Like most other provinces, Newfoundland slashed spending in the 1990s in a bid to reduce huge budget deficits.
There have been at least three rounds of layoffs in public service, as well as wage freezes and benefit rollbacks. Wages for those in the province’s largest public sector union have risen only seven percent in 11 years.
Finance Minister Joan Marie Aylward admitted public service deserved a big raise, but the province could only go so far — 13 percent over three years. The unions are pushing for a 15 percent raise.
