CBC News
After putting Mounties to work in strike-bound Saskatchewan jails for the past week, the RCMP is calling for reinforcements from Manitoba and Alberta.
About 800 jail guards and youth centre workers have been on the picket line since Dec. 20.
RCMP members from detachments around the province have been filling in at correctional facilities since then.The Saskatchewan Government Employees Union’s collective agreement with the provincial government expired in September and the two sides have been unable to reach a new deal.
Wages are a major part of the dispute.
The RCMP said Wednesday it has asked the federal, Alberta and Manitoba governments to send in 250 extra police officers from those provinces. The reinforcements will be deployed at the jails.
In a news release, the force said it needs the extra people so it can go back to normal policing in Saskatchewan.
It’s designed to be a temporary measure. If the strike continues, Saskatchewan RCMP members will resume their additional duties at the jails.
The union, which has 13,000 members in its bargaining unit, has indicated more of its members could take job action next week unless a deal is reached by then. Talks broke off last week and there’s no word on when they will resume
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