Saskatchewan MLAs being recalled to end strike
Wall made the announcement Thursday morning, a day after he said he'd give the union representing Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. workers 24 hours to get back to work.
Wall said the leaders of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union left him no choice.
"I'm not going to trust the future [of] people who are literally ravaged by the worst flood ever to a union leadership who said pretty clearly yesterday that they've decided to use this flood as a window of opportunity to try to get ... a better deal," Wall said.
'People who are literally ravaged by the worst flood ever...' —Premier Brad Wall says he's trying to protect farmers
On Tuesday, crop insurance workers with SGEU walked off the job to underline their contract demands.
That led to Wall's 24-hour ultimatum Wednesday morning. Wall's deadline for the strike to end — around 10:45 a.m. CST Thursday — came and went with no deal.
The union said Thursday it's not hopeful a settlement can be reached before Monday, when MLAs will meet and be asked to force the striking employees back to work. What's not known is whether the government will impose a contract or just order the employees back to work temporarily to deal with farmers' concerns.
In his letter Wednesday to SGEU president Bob Bymoen, Wall said it was "appalling" and "unconscionable" that the strike would happen while many farmers continue to struggle with flooding.
Union official Alan Evans responded that the strike was planned before the most recent spate of rain.
"It's really unfortunate that the weather event of last week caused this situation, and I want to make it clear that it's not political on our part."
Crop insurance workers include adjusters who process claims for failed crops or unseedable acres. The union represents about 470 crop insurance workers.
2% difference
Following Wall's demand for the strike to end on Wednesday, the union contacted management and talks restarted at a downtown Regina hotel.
Negotiations wrapped around midnight and continued Thursday morning, but SGEU said there was no progress.
The union says it's being offered a 5.5 per cent wage increase over three years, which it says is unacceptable. It's seeking 7.75 per cent over three years.
Meanwhile, the question of how fast MLAs can order employees back to work will depend on whether the NDP opposition co-operates with the government.
Opposition Leader Dwain Lingenfelter said the premier's decision to recall the legislature is a political one.
If Wall really wanted striking crop insurance workers back on the job, he would have settled their contract dispute two years ago, Lingenfelter said.
'The role of the premier isn't to find a wedge that puts anger and concern in farmers' minds or in unions' minds.' —NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter
"The role of the premier isn't to find a wedge that puts anger and concern in farmers' minds or in unions' minds," he said. "It's to find solutions and find things that bring them back together."
Lingenfelter said he will need to see Wall's back-to-work legislation before he can say what the NDP thinks of it.
The government says it could pass back to work legislation in one day, if the opposition agrees.