April 10, 2026
Dear Members,
Your Bargaining Committees met with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) March 30 to April 3 and April 7 to 10 for eight days of bargaining.
Like you, we are frustrated by the slow pace of bargaining. We have heard loud and clear and have told SAHO repeatedly how your pay has not kept up with cost-of-living, and how this is reducing your ability to make ends meet and your willingness to work in healthcare.
As discussed in a previous bargaining update, we put a monetary proposal on the table on February 19 and, as a show of good faith bargaining, kept the details confidential to give SAHO the opportunity to respond. Their response? SAHO repeatedly refused to discuss money until more of their demands were met. After sustained pressure, SAHO finally tabled a monetary response on April 9. Here’s how the proposals compare, but please keep reading, as the numbers only tell part of the story:
|
|
Unions’ Proposal February 19, 2026 |
SAHO Counter Proposal April 9, 2026 |
|
April 1, 2023 |
$5/hour increase across all pay bands |
3% |
|
April 1, 2024 |
4% |
3% |
|
April 1, 2025 |
4% |
2% |
|
April 1, 2026 |
4% |
2% |
|
April 1, 2027 |
4% |
2% |
|
Retro pay? |
All employees, including retirees |
Only current employees, others to be negotiated |
The flat $5 per hour increase in the first year of your Unions’ proposal is about equity: it helps all members, but especially those in the lower pay bands, who have been struggling to make ends meet.
The employer’s proposal is not equitable and doesn’t keep up with cost of living nor does it compare with the health provider wage gain patterns in neighbouring provinces. Worst of all, it comes with a truckload of other demands. SAHO’s comment to us was “Until our key priorities are addressed, this is the sum total of what we will be tabling on monetary proposals.”
What are SAHO’s “key priorities”? The same ones we’ve warned you about in previous bargaining updates, including:
- The right to bring in contract employees to do your job, who will be paid significantly more than you, but you will be expected to train.
- The right to move around work and workers with little care for the unique rights your Union has won in the past, and with little regard for your family life.
- Fewer rights and protections for you in your workplace.
The message is clear: unless the Unions give in on demands like these, SAHO is unwilling to discuss other monetary matters.
Your Unions are united: we do not negotiate for claw backs and concessions; we negotiate for protections and improvements.
What comes next?
- Your Unions are scheduled to bargain with SAHO April 20-24.
- We are also exploring the full range of options allowed under the Saskatchewan Employment Act.
- Your Unions and the Employer are scheduled to meet to discuss essential services that will have to be maintained in the event of a strike.
- Your Unions will be reaching out for your feedback and direction very soon, in a variety of ways. Watch for further information about campaigns, meetings, surveys, and actions.
What can you do?
- Be on guard for misinformation from SAHO and the Saskatchewan government. They will claim, wrongly, that your Unions are deliberately delaying bargaining, are “misrepresenting” SAHO’s proposals, and worst of all, harming patient care. Fight back with facts: check out, and direct your coworkers to, their Union’s websites and social media feeds.
- Contact your MLA, the Health Minister, and the Premier. These are the people responsible for SAHO’s direction, and the labour laws that place severe limits on our ability to use job action to get you the collective agreement you deserve.
In Solidarity,
On behalf of your Bargaining Committees
Click here for a PDF version of this Joint Bargaining Update