Show of Solidarity for our Crown Attorneys

As many of you have likely heard, our Crown Attorneys are the latest group of public sector workers to be attacked by the McNeil Liberal government. During bargaining, government announced they would be taking away these workers’ right to arbitration and instead, giving them the right to strike, with the caveat that they would be subject to essential services language.

While the NSGEU does not represent the Crown Attorneys, there are 75,000 public sector workers in Nova Scotia who have felt the chilling effects that this type of anti-worker legislation has on our ability to bargain fair collective agreements. Premier McNeil has gotten far too comfortable relying on legislation to advance his agenda of austerity in our province. It’s time for all workers to show him that his authoritarian approach to labour relations is disrespectful, ineffective, and will not be tolerated any longer. Make no mistake: this attack is a precursor to what Premier McNeil has in store for the rest of us when we head to the bargaining table next time. It is important that McNeil gets the message that we want fair bargaining.

We are asking all workers to take time out of their day tomorrow, during a break or lunch hour, to join the Crown Attorneys picket line in front of Province House. They will be protesting from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: you can stop by at any time that is convenient for you.

It’s important to have a strong show of solidarity: an injury to one is an injury to all, and we will soon be at the bargaining table again for some of our major groups, like civil service and health care. We need to send a very clear message: this government’s disrespect of workers is simply unacceptable.

I’ll see you on the picket line.

In solidarity,

Jason MacLean