Meadow Lake, July 30, 2019
Click here to download a printable PDF file of Meadow Lake Primary Health Care Centre: Bargaining Update No. 1
Greetings Sisters and Brothers,
Your SEIU-West bargaining committee met with representatives from SAHO and the Saskatchewan Health Authority on June 11 and 12 and July 23, 24, and 25, 2019 to bargain for a collective agreement.
In June, the parties were able to reach agreement on a proposal that allows employees who are on vacation, and they get sick or someone in their family becomes ill or there is a death in the family, to cancel that vacation if they wish, and reschedule it later. The parties also agreed on language regarding the definition of overtime, and the notice required for a leave of absence request and how quickly the Employer has to respond.
In the July meetings, the parties agreed to language that will have the Employer advance regular pay when an employee has filed a Workers’ Compensation claim and is waiting for a decision, sets out a time line for the Employer to respond to annual vacation requests, and language so that work assignments are awarded by seniority.
While we were gaining some success in bargaining non-monetary issues, the Union committee felt that bargaining had gone on far too long. Your committee tabled a comprehensive proposal to get a collective agreement that included the most important outstanding non-monetary issues and the Union’s monetary proposal. The Union’s proposal is for a four year term and includes a pay raise for all employees that will be retroactive to the first day of the new contract (April 1, 2018) and raises in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
The Union’s monetary proposal is informed by the positions that the Employer communicated during discussions at the bargaining table. The Union committee is hopeful that the Employer will respond positively and that we can reach a tentative agreement that is fair and reasonable, and that you will ratify.
Please watch your union bulletin board and the SEIU-West website for further details. You can contact us by calling the MRC at 1-888-999-7348 ext. 2298 or by using the ‘Contact’ form on SEIUWEST.ca. Your bargaining committee thanks you for your support during this extended round of bargaining.
In solidarity,
Your SEIU-West bargaining committee:
SEIU-West Members: Bonnie Schwingenschloegl; Kyla Pearce • Staff: Kim Deitner (Union Representative); Cam McConnell (Negotiations Officer)