After months of bargaining, negotiations between Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) and its employees have come to a standstill, and the majority of workers have voted in favour of job action.
“We know now since a job action vote was held, that library workers in Saskatoon have had enough,” Kent Peterson, president of CUPE Saskatchewan said in an interview Tuesday.
Peterson said SPL employees have faced an increase in violent incidents at work, and they are now a common occurrence.
“That violence ranges from verbal and physical threats, to being punched, kicked, shoved, spit on,” Peterson said. “All forms of violence at work are unacceptable and all workers have a right to a safe workplace.”
In April, an employee and a security guard were assaulted by two intoxicated girls at Carlyle King Library. The incident led to some libraries in the city changing their hours to close earlier.
“We’ve seen even worse incidents than that,” Peterson said. “It wasn’t that long ago where we had a library worker who was sexually assaulted at work.”
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Workers are seeking measures in their collective agreement to keep them safe, including provisions like walkie-talkies and security alert bracelets.
“They’ve been putting forward some commonsense solutions to deal with that violence at work. They’re in the collective bargaining process now, but the employer is not agreeing to any of these common sense solutions.”
CUPE 2669 represents around 270 workers at nine libraries across the city. On May 31 and June 1, the workers — who haven’t had a collective agreement since June 2023 — voted 95 per cent in favour of job action, which could include a full withdrawal of services.
After reaching an impasse, a mediator was appointed by the Minister of Labour Relations Tuesday morning. Peterson said CUPE will continue trying to get a deal at the bargaining table.
According to a release from CUPE, negotiations “broke down due to wages and the employer’s refusal to address serious safety concerns in the workplace.”
In the release, CUPE 2669 president Jeff Bergen said the employer is aware of these challenges and the escalation of violence on the job.
“It’s frustrating that they are refusing to include a single extra security provision in the collective agreement to keep workers and the public safe,” Bergen said. “Members have had enough, and this vote sends a clear message to the employer – violence is not part of the job.”
The release said the employer is also refusing to increase wages to address the cost of living, pointing to an increase in management positions and the new central library project.
In an emailed statement, SPL said a strike vote is not unusual in the collective bargaining process, and that a fair offer was made to the union and an impasse was declared.
“We have faith in the process and are hopeful we can come to an agreement with the assistance of mediation,” the statement read.
SPL said measures are being undertaken to protect its employees and patrons including on-site security, outreach workers and employee training.
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