'I'm hugely nervous,' union head says on energy privatization fears

The head of the union that represents Yukon government workers is warning Premier Dennis Fentie not to privatize the public utility, after workers at the Yukon Energy Corp. went public with their concerns.

Yukon Employees Union president Laurie Butterworth said his union backs members from Yukon Energy who believe Fentie may be trying to sell off the utility.

"We're with them, we're going to stand behind them, and we're going to try to stop this," Butterworth told CBC News on Friday, a day after more than 20 Yukon Energy workers issued a letter urging Fentie to reveal his plans for the company.

The concerned employees met late Thursday with Butterworth and Willard Phelps, who resigned as Yukon Energy chairman last week to protest government interference in the board's operations.

Butterworth said the 100-plus employees at Yukon Energy have been worried about their future for the past eight months.

Workers have said they are especially concerned because Fentie has not been open with them about his plans for the utility.

Fentie told reporters Thursday that he has "no initiative or process to privatize the energy corporation."

But in an interview last week, Fentie said talks are ongoing with Alberta-based ATCO to "rationalize" Yukon Energy and the Yukon Electrical Company Ltd., the power distribution company owned by ATCO.

"When you start doing things in secret and talking to companies that supply do power in other parts of Canada, it leaves all kinds of things out to questions," Butterworth said.

"To leave that huge question out there, people start worrying about their jobs and their livelihoods, people that have been here for years and working for Yukon Energy for years."

A public meeting has been set for Monday evening, at LePage Park in downtown Whitehorse, to discuss the privatization issue. The Yukon Employees Union is urging all government employees to attend.

The union is also starting a letter-writing effort as well as a campaign to approach Yukon politicians.

Butterworth said it's not the first time the issue of privatizing Yukon Energy has come up, but he added the issue has been muddled by the fact that no one — not even the union — knows what is going on.

"Because it's so secretive right now, we don't know exactly what the premier is talking to ATCO about, but right now we're all a little bit nervous," he said.

"As a Yukoner, I'm hugely nervous."