By Michael Joel-Hansen

Saskatchewan Federation of Labour welcomes new president

Oct 30, 2018 | 2:47 PM

The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) has a new president.

LeRoy local Lori Johb was acclaimed to the position last weekend. The SFL is an umbrella organization representing over 100,000 workers in Saskatchewan from 37 affiliated labour unions.  

Prior to being elected to the new position, Johb served as the secretary treasurer of the SFL for eight years. She will be taking over from Larry Hubich, who served as the federation’s president for 16 years.

Speaking to northeastNOW, Johb said there are a number of issues she feels need to be addressed.

“One of the issues that is really important to us in Saskatchewan is the minimum wage and I think that we need our minimum wage to be increased, I’d really be happy if we could see a $15 an hour minimum wage,” she said.

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Johb said a higher minimum wage is a policy not only helps locals, but the overall economy.

“I know that people that make low wages spend every nickel they make in their communities,” she said.

Occupational health and safety is an additional issue Johb is looking at in her new role as Saskatchewan has some of the highest rates of work place accidents in Canada.

“I do believe we have a long way to go in regards to occupational health and safety,” she said.

Johb said at a recent convention, the organization lit 55 candles to commemorate those who died in workplace related accidents this year. Johb said not all of the deaths were recognized by the Workers Compensation Board (WCB).

Looking at what needs to change in order to bring the rate of injuries and fatalities down, Johb stressed the need for change in a number of areas.

“I think we don’t do well enough on enforcement, I don’t think the message is getting out,” she said.

Along with the need to increase enforcement, Johb said their needs to be an increased focus on education as well.

“I think that education is huge, I think we need to do better on educating the workforce,” she said.

Specifically, Johb would like to see the provincial government along with WCB work to make sure that workers are more aware of the rights they have in their workplace.

The new position will mean some changes for Johb. Unlike her previous job with the SFL, the position of president is a full time one, which means she will be leaving her job at the Humboldt District Hospital. The new job title will also mean spending more time in Regina, but she will not be pulling up stakes completely.

“I live in LeRoy, I will continue, That’ll be my home; my husband still lives and works there,” she said.

MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn