Stonebridge Crossing: Bargaining Bulletin No. 4
Date: April 12, 2024
Greetings Sisters, Brothers, and Colleagues,
(Click here for a printable PDF of this Bargaining Bulletin.)
Date: May 24, 2019
Greetings Sisters and Brothers,
Since our last Bargaining Bulletin was published on May 2nd, your SEIU-West Bargaining Committee has reached out to SAHO to set up dates to meet. On June 14th, representatives from the SAHO and the SEIU-West Bargaining Committee will meet in Saskatoon to discuss the parameters and process of re-commencing collective bargaining.
There are a number of different scenarios and outcomes that may result from collective bargaining. One is the potential of a bargaining impasse, where the parties cannot reach an agreement. In this scenario, we would come back to our membership to seek a mandate for job action. However, voting on taking job action does not mean we automatically go on strike right away.
Under the Saskatchewan Employment Act, there are several legal requirements before a strike can begin: mandatory conciliation, a cooling-off period, and the two parties must negotiate an essential services agreement.
To be prepared for the possibility of essential services negotiations, the SEIU-West Bargaining Committee will be reaching out to our members to get information about their work duties. Our SAHO bargaining unit (Saskatchewan Health Authority and affiliates) includes over 450 different job classifications. We know that the particular duties of each classification are often different in each region and facility. We developed a questionnaire that we trialed at our recent Convention, and will be using the information gained from that exercise to reach out to all of our members working in the SAHO bargaining unit. Members from the ProCat team will be meeting with you at facilities across the province to let you know how you can participate.
As well as returning to the bargaining table, SEIU-West will also be meeting with our coalition partners SGEU and CUPE, as well as communicating with the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour, to keep them updated on our efforts. SEIU-West also continues to raise the issue of uneven public sector compensation in the media and with elected officials, to ensure that our position and purpose in our negotiations with SAHO are clearly understood.
As always, we welcome our members’ questions and comments. We encourage you to contact the MRC at 1-888-999-7348 ext. 2298 to ask any further questions. Please watch for updates on www.SEIUWEST.ca. You can also follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
In Solidarity,
Your SEIU-West SAHO Provincial Bargaining Committee:
CHR: Janice Platzke (SEIU-West Treasurer) • FHHR: Brenda Berry; Donna Gallant • HHR: Colleen Denniss • SHR: Judy Denniss; Rick Brown; Carla Saworski; Kim Wyatt; Charlene Sarafin; • Staff: Bob Laurie (Dir. of Bargaining and Contract Enforcement); Russell Doell (Deputy Dir. of Bargaining and Contract Enforcement); Cam McConnell (Negotiations Officer) • President: Barbara Cape
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