Labour board ruling on Saskatoon Transit lockout a sideshow

One should not underestimate the potential ramification of last week’s Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board ruling regarding the legality of city hall’s locking out its bus drivers. But it is a mere sideshow that exposed two very critical issues facing the city and its unions.

The ruling doesn't capture what this job action was. There is deep concern how city hall can sustain its defined benefit pension plans – both financially and politically, as well as the future of its transit system.

Senior civic officials have worried for years about the sustainability of the city’s pension plans. The majority of the money for these plans comes from investments and, as we were all reminded these last two weeks, it`s a mug’s game to bet on investments continuing to cover the demands of the retiring baby boomers.

Even that portion of the pensions paid out by contributions comes with a built-in fairness issue. Many of the army of soon-to-be retired workers only had to contribute a small amount of their earnings into a retirement fund compared with what new employees pay. New hires must wonder if they will ever receive a defined benefits plan. 

And unlike most places the city often calculates its pension payouts based on the highest earnings including overtime, which is often given first to those with seniority – that is those about to retire.

Yet maintaining a defined benefit plan in a city that cycles through booms and busts is critical. City hall won`t always be able to compete with the resource sector when it comes to base wages but it does have some things to offer, including a stable income until death.

Transit union president Jim Yakubowski should be congratulated for saying there won’t be a strike in spite of his mandate, but the long lockout demonstrated to many just how irrelevant the system has become for most Saskatoon residents.

Those it hurt were the most vulnerable and were hurt badly but some 96 per cent of commuters faced little inconvenience.

This shouldn’t be surprising. For decades transit has been the poor cousin of city transportation in the city and in the province. The provincial government doesn’t invest directly in transit for its major cities but does support such things as building bridges.

Without significant investment in transit and the willingness to sustain that investment through lean years – particularly early on – Saskatoon will continue to develop a car culture that will ultimately be unsustainable both ecologically and economically as it raises taxes to patch potholes and push snow.

The labour board may have thrown a monkey wrench into the works with its precedent setting ruling, but unless the city and its union seriously sit down to tackle the big issues before them, they will be dividing up the ashes of a spent pension plan and a redundant, unloved service.

Gerry Klein is a former civic affairs columnist for The Saskatoon StarPhoenix.