Nurses Strike, Premier Romanow And The 22%
		By Mario deSantis, April 11, 1999
Romanow.. an insipid and reactionary politician		Premier Romanow said Friday that he was appalled by the nurses' actions to defy the
		back to work legislation and stated that their defiance violates the principles of a civilized
		and democratic society(1). Poor Romanow, after so many years of being an insipid and
		reactionary politician(2), he has forgotten that "good faith" is the fundamental principle
		of our civilized relationships(3). Romanow goes on to say that he believes nurses are
		fundamentally law abiding citizens without realizing that he and his friend Brian
		Rourke(4), Chair of the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO),
		are at the same time lawmakers and outlaws(5) (6). Saturday's StarPhoenix has one full
		page advertisement sponsored by the Saskatchewan government and reports Romanow's
		statements:
		"...The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses walked away from the best contract offer they've ever received...This dispute is about money: 22% is too much..."
The interference of Premier Romanow... affects every agency, every business, every citizen of this province		Collective bargaining is the responsibility of the bargaining agents, in this case the
		responsibility of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) and SAHO, yet this
		advertisement has the stamp of the Government of Saskatchewan. The interference
		of Premier Romanow and of the government he represents affects every agency,
		every business, every citizen of this province(7). Big Brother Romanow is now busy
		interfering again with the negotiation processes between the Service Employees
		International Union (SEIU) and SAHO in order to avert another strike in health care.
the health budget is one of the highest in the country at 39.5% of public expenditures		Premier Romanow has become a negotiator and rightly so, after so many years of
		governmental mismanagement and lower expectations there is no more money to
		reward good working employees. Too much money has been given away to pad the
		salaries of CEOs of district health boards, to try to implement a messy Saskatchewan
		Health Information network (SHIN), to fix the Y2K nightmare, to buy an expensive
		payroll system, to close the Plains Hospital, to try to implement Telehealth, and so
		fourth. The fact that hundred(s) of millions of dollars have been misallocated and that
		the health budget is one of the highest in the country at 39.5% of public expenditures
		is a blatant evidence of an endemic problem of our political leadership.
Romanow's fault in not being able to create and maintain a healthy social and economic system		Premier Romanow is right to say that 22% is too much, but 22% is not too much
		because of the nurses' fault, it is Romanow's fault in not being able to create and
		maintain a healthy social and economic system, including healthcare. The 22% is
		not a collective bargaining issue, it is a statement of the corrupted behaviour of our
		political leaders and our consequential inability to express our individual freedoms.
-------Endnotes:
1. -		Districts up ante: Injunction sought to force nurses to end illegal strike, by Mark Wyatt, The StarPhoenix, April 10, 1999, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
2. -		A short commentary on the budget: A Number Game, by Mario deSantis, April 1, 1999. Published in North Central Internet News
3. -		Bad Faith of Honourable Romanow: Back to Work Legislation for Nurses, by Mario deSantis, April 9, 1999, 9:00 AM. Published in North Central Internet News
4. -		Never enough money for SAHO, by Mario deSantis, March 31, 1999 Published in North Central Internet News
5. -		An ominous suspicion: has SAHO corrupted the pension fund?, by Mario deSantis, February 15, 1999. Published in North Central Internet News
6. -		Is the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) above the Law?, by Mario deSantis, October 29, 1998. Published in North Central Internet News
7. -		Saskatchewan Tin Pot Dictatorships: Lack of Integrity is Lack of Leadership, by Mario deSantis, February 7, 1999. Published in North Central Internet News