Hey Moe! Respect Us Protect Us Pay Us – Campaign Launch
(Saskatchewan, Canada) – Today SEIU-West proudly formally launches its newest summer-activism campaign: Hey Moe! #RespectUsProtectUsPayUs.
“As Premier Scott Moe continues to push Saskatchewan to ‘the way it should be,’ he and his government need to remember who bore the brunt of this pandemic and helped get the province to this point – front line essential workers,” says SEIU-West President Cape. “There has been extensive damage done to our public service workforce in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that needs to be repaired.”
Accompanied by a digital and mass email campaign, billboards across Saskatchewan and other multimedia outlets, SEIU-West’s HeyMoe.ca campaign is about telling Scott Moe and his Cabinet that there is an urgent need to repair and invest in public services. Billboards across Saskatchewan are running these messages… except for Directwest billboards, owned by Scott Moe’s government, which refused to run the message, declaring it “divisive”.
There is some controversy from one advertiser about our campaign,” explains Cape. “How, exactly, does a simple request for respect, protection and fair wages for the thousands of essential workers serving Saskatchewan’s front line today offend this government-owned company’s guidelines?”
SEIU-West members, like all essential front line workers across Saskatchewan, have been providing hands-on care and in-person services since the very start of the pandemic, enduring extraordinary personal, mental, physical and financial hurdles including the absence of and/or insufficient personal protective equipment; inconsistent application of protocols; isolation and lack of mental health supports; insufficient staffing levels; and unfair, arbitrary distribution of the Government of Canada’s temporary wage supplement.
COVID-19 has gravely injured a public service that was broken prior to the pandemic’s arrival – now it needs time, money and leadership to heal.
Cape adds “We are asking everyone in Saskatchewan who supported and applauded essential workers as heroes, to please sign onto the letter at HeyMoe.ca and send a message to Premier Moe that we need to act now by investing significant funding into our public services.”
The HeyMoe.ca campaign’s hashtag, #RespectUsProtectUsPayUs, demands Saskatchewan front line workers be:
- Respected by hiring more staff so workers are not running to provide care and services to the vulnerable;
- Protected by investing in mental health assistance, personal protective equipment, and the resources required to ensure the workplace is truly safe;
- Paid fairly for their jobs, so Saskatchewan’s public services can recruit and retain the qualified and professional people to provide the services we all rely on daily.
Service Employees International Union West (SEIU-West) represents over 13,000 people across Saskatchewan. They include people who work in health care, education, municipalities, community-based organizations, retirement homes and other sectors. They are joined by one colour – purple – and one union – SEIU-West. Visit PurpleWorks.ca to find out more about SEIU-West members.
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To download and print a PDF copy of this release please click here.
For more information, contact:
Christine Miller
Communications
306-477-8733
Read President Barb Cape's July 9, 2021 letter to Directwest CEO
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