By Mario deSantis, April 11, 1999

Premier Romanow said Friday that he was appalled by the nurses' actions to defy the back to work legislation and stated that their defiance violates the principles of a civilized and democratic society(1). Poor Romanow, after so many years of being an insipid and reactionary politician(2), he has forgotten that "good faith" is the fundamental principle of our civilized relationships(3). Romanow goes on to say that he believes nurses are fundamentally law abiding citizens without realizing that he and his friend Brian Rourke(4), Chair of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO), are at the same time lawmakers and outlaws(5) (6). Saturday's StarPhoenix has one full page advertisement sponsored by the Saskatchewan government and reports Romanow's statements: "...The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses walked away from the best contract offer they've ever received...This dispute is about money: 22% is too much..."

Collective bargaining is the responsibility of the bargaining agents, in this case the responsibility of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) and SAHO, yet this advertisement has the stamp of the Government of Saskatchewan. The interference of Premier Romanow and of the government he represents affects every agency, every business, every citizen of this province(7). Big Brother Romanow is now busy interfering again with the negotiation processes between the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and SAHO in order to avert another strike in health care.

Premier Romanow has become a negotiator and rightly so, after so many years of governmental mismanagement and lower expectations there is no more money to reward good working employees. Too much money has been given away to pad the salaries of CEOs of district health boards, to try to implement a messy Saskatchewan Health Information network (SHIN), to fix the Y2K nightmare, to buy an expensive payroll system, to close the Plains Hospital, to try to implement Telehealth, and so fourth. The fact that hundred(s) of millions of dollars have been misallocated and that the health budget is one of the highest in the country at 39.5% of public expenditures is a blatant evidence of an endemic problem of our political leadership.

Premier Romanow is right to say that 22% is too much, but 22% is not too much because of the nurses' fault, it is Romanow's fault in not being able to create and maintain a healthy social and economic system, including healthcare. The 22% is not a collective bargaining issue, it is a statement of the corrupted behaviour of our political leaders and our consequential inability to express our individual freedoms.

Endnotes

1. Districts up ante: Injunction sought to force nurses to end illegal strike, by Mark Wyatt, The StarPhoenix, April 10, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

2. A short commentary on the budget: A Number Game, by Mario deSantis, April 1, 1999. Published in North Central Internet News

3. Bad Faith of Honourable Romanow: Back to Work Legislation for Nurses, by Mario deSantis, April 9, 1999, 9:00 AM. Published in North Central Internet News

4. Never enough money for SAHO, by Mario deSantis, March 31, 1999 Published in North Central Internet News

5. An ominous suspicion: has SAHO corrupted the pension fund?, by Mario deSantis, February 15, 1999. Published in North Central Internet News

6. Is the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) above the Law?, by Mario deSantis, October 29, 1998. Published in North Central Internet News

7. Saskatchewan Tin Pot Dictatorships: Lack of Integrity is Lack of Leadership, by Mario deSantis, February 7, 1999. Published in North Central Internet News