Saskatchewan – Since there has been no movement at bargaining in the past month, SEIU-West members who work at Canadian Blood Services (CBS) in Regina are holding an information picket to tell the public about their struggles in getting a collective agreement for the past five years.
“This employer needs to understand that their employees are a valuable resource and have been dedicated to the provision of blood products for Saskatchewan despite the troubles they’ve faced in bargaining and throughout the pandemic,” says Barbara Cape, President of SEIU-West. “CBS has not had it in them to give their own staff members a decent raise or any of the reasonable requests they’ve made at the bargaining table.”
In a decision released on April 6, the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board (SLRB) ruled that Canadian Blood Services engaged in unfair labour practices in their negotiations with their staff’s union, SEIU-West. The SLRB said CBS’s conduct “crossed over into an unacceptable avoidance of its collective bargaining responsibilities.” The SLRB specifically noted that CBS ignored and stalled SEIU-West’s formal requests to bargain for more than 14 months. When the Employer finally came to the table, the SLRB found, they declined to respond to the Union’s carefully developed proposals and refused to discuss wage rates. These efforts to “subvert, frustrate, or avoid” the collective bargaining process are, the LRB found, a clear violation of the Saskatchewan Employment Act.
“We’re encouraged by the fact they have met some of the order’s requests but our members need the stability of a signed collective agreement,” adds Cape. “Deliberate delay is not okay with our members and it shouldn’t be okay with donors and the public.”
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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For more information, contact:
Leanne Hendriks
Communications Coordinator, SEIU-West
306-652-1011 ext. 2244
Click here for a printable PDF version of this Media Release.