Media Release: Strike Notice Served: LutherCare Communities Group Homes
For Immediate Release
April 22, 2024
For Immediate Release
March 21, 2023
Saskatchewan—In a time where Saskatchewan people are struggling to make ends meet, SEIU-West members are looking for the new provincial budget to show a commitment to creating solutions to the situation.
“What Saskatchewan workers are looking for is a culture of care and support. And that starts with the provincial government and other leaders of Saskatchewan,” says Barbara Cape, President of SEIU-West. “This is a strategy that we think should underlie the decisions being made by our government, and we’ll see if that commitment comes through in this budget.”
Creating a culture of care and support requires a government that is humble and open to collaboration with a focus on finding solutions to the struggles and crises facing the people of the province: cost of living, homelessness, mental health, and addictions. These should be the priorities of the provincial government, not petty distractions. “For example, when we’re looking at improving services to the people of Saskatchewan the provincial government would be better served looking within the province and working with experts in our public system—the experts working in our hospitals, long-term care facilities, group homes, schools and early childhood development and care,” continues Cape. “The people who know the public systems that serve our province, who understand the challenges and solutions, are those who are the frontline experts who have dedicated their lives to public services.”
A culture of care requires real, meaningful investment in care. “Respecting and investing in those who provide care and support will create a more attractive work environment to retain and recruit people to this province across all sectors. Saskatchewan has boundless potential in its people, but we need significantly more invested in our people who provide public services,” adds Cape. “The efforts of the provincial and federal governments to increase transfer payments and recruit healthcare workers from around the country, and overseas, are only a stop gap to the current crisis in the healthcare system and we need to do more.”
“We must value and invest in a culture of care as a province. And we do so by valuing and investing in the workers who provide us that care,” states Cape. “The people of Saskatchewan are tired of division as politics instead of a real focus on creating solutions and building a culture of care and support for all people in the province. This work begins by valuing and investing in the workers who provide that care and support.”
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
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