In early December, the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board (the LRB) issued a decision about the five former Extendicare facilities. The decision was based on an interpretation of the regulations that governed a previous restructuring of the healthcare system in 1997, commonly called the ‘Dorsey regulations’. In that decision, the Saskatoon and Moose Jaw facilities remain within the SEIU-West family. However, the 3 Regina-based facilities were moved, without a vote of the membership, into the CUPE 5430 jurisdiction.
Pinned
Notice to Members in the Education Sector - Re: STF Strike
January 12, 2024
Good afternoon,
As you may have heard, the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) has announced that its members across Saskatchewan will be conducting a one-day strike on Tuesday, January 16th.
SEIU-West Education Support Staff Stands with the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation
The Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (the STF) has been bargaining with the Government and Trustee bargaining committee. They have reached an impasse and are unable to make any progress. The STF has notified their members that they will be holding a vote on sanctions against their employer.
Convention 2023: Constitutional Amendments
The following Constitutional Amendments were debated, voted on, and passed during Convention:
Celebrate Facilities and Engineering Week October 20-26!
In addition to Education Week this week, SEIU-West is proud to recognize and celebrate Facilities and Engineering Week!
The work of our members in Facilities and Engineering is crucial to the success of the health care team and positive outcomes for those they care for. We need heating, water and lighting systems to be well-organized and operational; this is required to support quality health care environments that patients, residents, visitors and staff rely on. The SEIU-West members who make up the Facilities and Engineering department ensure our health care environments are safe, comfortable, and efficient.
Members who work in Facilities and Engineering work in a variety of fields including: Building and Energy Maintenance, Construction, Waste Management, Groundskeeping and Landscaping, and Clinical and Plant Engineering.
SEIU-West Facilities and Engineering workers are a vital part of efficient health care work environments – none of us could successfully complete our jobs without them! So in honor of our members who work in Facilities and Engineering, we are holding a contest and you can nominate a member of the Facilities and Engineering team who really makes a difference in your workplace. It could be their positive attitude, their awesome work, or the way they support the whole health care team.
Please send in your nominations, along with a sentence or two as to why they deserve to win to [email protected] by October 27, 2019. Your nominee could win one of several great prizes!
Put Kids First: Editorial for Education Week
Put Kids First: By Barbara Cape, President of SEIU-West
As the school year continues on, we have an opportunity to celebrate Education Week (October 20 – 26. 2019) and to put kids first. But this is no mere platitude, rather a call to recognize the value of education and the impact on our province.
Saskatchewan has undergone some dramatic changes in the past ten years. Our provincial government boasts an increase in population and a strong economy. Our Premier publicly states that he is standing up for Saskatchewan. We need to engage on this undertaking with him – is he really standing up for our younger generation? Is he standing up for education?
We lost approximately 350 Education Assistant jobs during the boom years. This was followed up by the 2017-18 budget, where the education sector experienced deep cuts to the tune of 54 million dollars; in the 2018-19 budget funding was restored but only to the extent of 30 million dollars. In our current budget year school operating grants were reduced by 31.5 million dollars. This leaves us struggling at significantly reduced budget levels. The real world impact of those funding cuts has been larger classroom sizes; reduced services in maintenance and infrastructure; further cuts to all staff who work as Librarian and Education Assistants, Administrative Assistants, and Maintenance, among others. When classroom sizes balloon and resources are stripped, it is the students who suffer. With a growing population, the program cuts for English as an Additional Language and supports for students with special needs are particularly concerning…our kids need our support!
Your voices and collective wisdom can make the difference in the decision of the government to ensure that we have more staff: Teachers, Education Assistants, Maintenance, Administrative and Library Assistants. Our province depends on the education that we can provide: high quality education is a silver bullet that can promote prosperity and progress for our future society.
The time is now – during Education Week – reach out to your MLA and ask them to put kids first – end understaffing. Our children deserve a safe, comfortable and well supported learning environment.
SAHO/SEIU-West Bargaining Bulletin (2nd edition) No. 8
Click here to download SAHO/SEIU-West Bargaining Bulletin (2nd edition) No. 8
Date: October 10, 2019
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Your SEIU-West bargaining committee was scheduled to meet in Moose Jaw on October 7-10 with SAHO and the Employer, for voluntary conciliation. The parties had agreed to use Dan Ish as conciliator in order to see if we could find common ground to reach a tentative agreement. Unfortunately, the parties did not make any measureable success that we can report.
During the brief time we spent face-to-face with SAHO, we talked about the issues, concerns and challenges in the bargaining process over the last two and one-half years. We reiterated the statement we heard loud and clear, over and over again on the roadshow, “There is not enough in this offer to make me vote Yes”. Your bargaining committee was prepared to be creative in our proposals if we had the ability to do so.
The conciliator met separately with the parties many times to shuttle ideas and concerns between SAHO/Employer and SEIU-West committees. Ultimately, the conciliation session ended when it became apparent that there was not going to be enough creativity at this session to find new proposals that will help us reach a tentative agreement.
SAHO and the Employer are to meet with us and the conciliator on October 23. The committees have to engage in building proposals that deal with this round of bargaining and this Collective Agreement. The committees need to come prepared to be flexible; they need to present realistic and acceptable ideas; and they need to have the authority to make decisions, or to have a decision maker readily available if we are to conclude bargaining this collective agreement.
Our bargaining committee (and our members’) patience is at a premium. We have spent a lot of time fighting for a fair collective agreement. We have talked to politicians, signed postcards, written letters, joined rallies, and shared our experiences working on the frontlines in health care. We are done waiting...
Thank you for your ongoing support and engagement. And please remember that together we need to let SAHO know it’s not acceptable to present the same mandate that our members have rejected. We need you to provide clarity to those who control the purse strings. You can contact the Minister of Finance, Donna Harpauer (306) 787-6060 OR [email protected]; the Minister of Health, Jim Reiter (306) 787-7345 OR [email protected]; the new Minister of Rural and Remote Health, Warren Kaeding (306) 798-9014 OR [email protected]; or your very own MLA (http://www.legassembly.sk.ca/mlas/).Explain to them the need for a fair offer; and how an adequate monetary package is necessary to recruit and retain quality staff. If you would like some assistance, call the MRC at 1-888-999-7348 extension 1 and an officer will put you in contact with someone who will help you.
You can also add your name to the www.endunderstaffing.ca campaign that we’ve launched to address recruitment and retention in our health care system. Wages are a critical component to ensure that we have appropriate staffing levels.
In Solidarity,
Your SEIU-West SAHO Provincial Bargaining Committee:
CHR: Janice Platzke (SEIU-West Treasurer) • FHHR: Brenda Berry; Donna Gallant • HHR: Colleen Denniss • SHR: Judy Denniss; Rick Brown; Carla Saworski; Kim Wyatt; Charlene Sarafin; • Staff: Bob Laurie (Dir. of Contract Bargaining and Enforcement); Russell Doell (Deputy Dir. of Contract Bargaining and Enforcement); Cam McConnell (Negotiations Officer) • President: Barbara Cape
SEIU-West is proud to recognize October 15, 2019 as Pharmacy Technician Day!
SEIU-West members who work as Pharmacy Technicians are a vital part of our public health care team; they prepare, check and distribute medications and pharmacy supplies to ensure people are safely supplied their prescribed medications or over the counter medicines. They also help share relevant patient information with other health care professionals when requested.
Pharmacy Technicians assist Pharmacists, patients, residents and clients requiring medications which in turn, makes our communities healthier places to live and work. Thank you Pharmacy Technicians for your valuable work!
To celebrate Pharmacy Technician Day, SEIU-West asks that you to participate in the Pharmacy Technician Day Contest!
With the election around the corner, Pharmacare is a big election issue. As many health care providers would agree, it is essential for people to be able to access their prescribed medications. However, without a universal drug plan, many people cannot afford their medications and end up skipping or splitting their medications. This leads to worsened health and often, with more people in the emergency room. So in recognition of the importance of Pharmacy Technicians and the work they do to provide prescribed medications, tell us: why is Pharmacare important to you? Email your answers to [email protected] by October 22, 2019 for your chance to win a great prize!
Celebrate Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR), Health Care Security, and Combined Laboratory & X-Ray Technologists (CLXT) Week October 13-19!
SEIU-West members who work in MDR, Security and the CLXT classification are necessary to the health care team because they help to ensure safe and quality health care provision.
Health care providers who work in MDR protect and strengthen patient safety by ensuring health care equipment is dependable, clean and effective. They inspect, assemble, sterilize, and decontaminate health care equipment – they must therefore be highly detailed in their work and meet great physical demands. Through the hard work of those who work in MDR, health care patients can expect excellence in their care.
Health care workers who work in Security are at the frontline when it comes to patient and staff care. As in any health care setting, unexpected situations can occur – Security Officers are there to provide and ensure a safe environment. Security Officers must be attentive to detail because part of their job is preventive patrol and inspection as this helps to determine whether conditions are normal. They must also be well-prepared and have the ability to respond quickly and appropriately to any number of security emergencies occurring within a health care setting.
CLXTs are vital to the success of quality and safe health care. By performing X-ray exams, Electrocardiograms (ECG) and Holter monitoring, these hard working health care technicians ensure patients receive the best care available. The role of a CLXT is to provide diagnostic tools that the entire health team relies on because they assist in the proper diagnosis and treatment of patients. CLXT’s will procure and analyze specimens, and prepare patients before any lab and x-ray procedures.
It is evident that health care providers who work in the MDR, Security, and CLXT departments are essential to safety and quality care. To recognize their value, SEIU-West is happy to announce a recognition contest!
Complete the MDR, Security, and CLXT Week Wordsearch by October 21 for your chance to win a great prize! Email your completed wordsearches to [email protected] – good luck!
Win of the Week! October 6-12
SEIU-West is overjoyed to share another incredible organizing win this week! Workers at Green Falls Landing, a Revera Retirement facility in Regina, voted overwhelmingly to join SEIU-West! These members will now join their comrades at the other five Revera Retirement residences currently unionized with SEIU-West. Big thank you to our organizers and new members – thanks to your dedication, another 60 families will reap the benefits joining SEIU-West.
Shining A Light On...Pharmacare
By Brittney Servetnyk, Young Worker Committee Member
My name is Brittney Servetnyk I work in Saskatoon as a Continuing Care Assistant in a long-term care facility. I am also on the Young Workers Committee (YWC) with SEIU-West. The Federal Election is coming up quickly on October 21st 2019. I am voting because I want a government that ensures us with Pharmacare, fair wages and fair housing costs. Its important to vote because its our right as Canadians to vote from the young age of 18 years and up. I find it especially important to vote as a female as the right for a female to vote was fought so hard by women in the early 1900's.The decisions the government make affect absolutely everyone. We all have a voice in who our government is, and can hold them accountable for their actions while in office. Your vote matters! Check out this interview about pharmacare I did in support of our YWC Shining A Light On initiative and the upcoming election:
Pharmacare: A drug insurance plan that belongs to all Canadians – one that is sustainable and equitable – where Canadians have access to prescription medications based on their need and not their ability to pay.
When we go to the Doctor we hand them our provincial health card and expenses are covered.
Getting to the pharmacy is when the anxiety really hits, as many begin to crunch numbers in our head and think, "Do I really need this medicine? Can it wait a little longer? Do I skip groceries bills or rent?”
Some people are fortunate enough to be able to hand the pharmacist a drug insurance card whether it be through work (often thanks to their union) or a secondary insurance company. But even then some medications still come with cost, or sometimes a medication isn’t recognized under your plan.
A lack of universal prescription drug coverage – Pharmacare – is causing many people skip doses, split pills, or skip their medications entirely just to get by. This not only leads to a decline in a person’s mental and physical health, but fills our emergency departments as well.
Now imagine a future where your provincial health card is used at the pharmacy and prescription costs are covered just like a visit to your Doctor’s office… this is possible with Pharmacare.
Canadians pay one of the highest prescription costs and we are currently the only developed country with universal health care that does not include prescription drug coverage.
As workers we need to contact our MPs and elected leaders in order to stress the importance of a strong, healthier future with Pharmacare. Be sure to ask your federal candidate where they stand on Pharmacare!
Interview between Brittney (YWC Co-Chair) and Matt Winacott (Primary Care Paramedic)
Q: What does a future with Pharmacare look like?
A: A future with Pharmacare includes healthier citizens with more money in their pockets, who don’t have to worry about being able to afford their medications. Canadians would use their provincial health card at the pharmacy as they would at the hospital with no cost. When people don’t skip their medications due to financial burden both their physical and mental health improve.
Q: Who would be eligible to receive Pharmacare?
A: All Canadians would be eligible.
Q: How many residents are going without medications or skipping doses?
A: 1 in 5 Canadians are unable to fill their prescriptions due to cost.
Q: As a young worker in health care yourself, why is Pharmacare so important?
A: From my own experience in health care, I have seen people make tough decisions to go without their medications to pay for food or rent. Pharmacare is important because when you're working hard to make ends meet or bettering your life going to school or trying to afford child care, you shouldn’t have to worry about medical expenses.
SEIU-West recognizes Mental Illness Awareness Week October 6-12
SEIU-West recognizes Mental Illness Awareness Week October 6-12.
The Saskatchewan Employment Act (SEA) includes mental health in its definition of “occupational health and safety”, as follows:
- the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers.
We understand many SEIU-West members and workers around the world experience high levels of stress and poor mental health due to work. Mental health concerns can stem from workload, workplace harassment, and many other factors that occur on the shop-floor. In response, each employer should have mental health policies as it is their responsibility to provide safe workplaces, as per the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations (section 12).
SEIU-West also has many resources that can support you, including talking points for workload as an OHS issue, and anti-harassment training. Please contact the Member Resource Centre (MRC) at 1.888.999.7348 ext. 2298 for more information. Your family doctor can often recommend a professional for you as well. Other examples of supportive organizations include the Employee and Family Assistance Programs (EFAP) or associations such as the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) or the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) to name just a few.
- EFAP programs are confidential, short term, counselling services for employees with problems that affect their work performance. The services of EFAP providers are often purchased by your company. Check with your human resources department (or equivalent) for contact information.
- CMHA's programs are meant to ensure that people whose mental health is endangered will find the help needed to cope with crisis, regain confidence, and return to community, family and job. You can read an interview about mental health with staff from CMHA and our Young Workers Committee here.
- The CCSA promotes informed debate on substance abuse issues, and disseminates information on the nature, and assists organizations involved in substance abuse treatment, prevention and educational programming (resource: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety).
As always, your union is here to support you – know that you are never alone with SEIU-West.
SEIU-West celebrates Food Services Week October 6-12!
The members of SEIU-West who work in Food Services are central to ensuring patients, residents, and clients have their nutritional needs met when receiving care. They also make sure all staff and visitors have access to their delicious meals that are prepared with high-quality hygienic standards.
In a health care setting, various resident and patient needs must be taken into account – our professional Food Services members make sure that food allergies and dietary needs are taken into account to safeguard against possible complications that can cause set-backs in recovery and impact a person’s overall health.
It’s clear those who work in Food Services are a vital part of the health care team and in recognition, we’re launching our Food Services Week contest!
With Fall in the air, people are increasingly in the mood for comfort foods and warm meals. So for this contest we ask you to tell us: what’s your favourite comfort food? Bonus points for sending a picture of a comfort meal made by a member in Food Services!
By entering, you could win a gift card or movie pass!
Email [email protected] to enter – the deadline is October 15!
And don't miss our CTV ad airing this week across Saskatchewan in celebration of Food Services Week! You can check out that ad on our YouTube page here.
Media Release: More Revera Retirement Employees Vote to Join SEIU-West
For Immediate Release - October 4, 2019
Saskatoon – Nearly 90% of workers at Green Falls Landing in Regina have voted in favour of joining five other Revera Retirement facilities as members of SEIU-West.
Win of the Week! September 29-October 5
SEIU-West is thrilled to announce workers at Saskatchewan Society of the Protection of Children (SSPC)- Parent Aide Programme have joined our SEIU-West family! The workers voted strongly in favour of joining SEIU-West and have already had a unit meeting to elect their interim bargaining team and unit executive. Now that the certification is official, we’re excited to see our newest members enter bargaining. Thank you to the organizing team for a job well done and big congratulations to our latest SEIU-West members!
Media Release: SEIU-West Welcomes New Members at Parent Aide Saskatoon!
For Immediate Release - October 2, 2019
Saskatoon – Workers at the Parent Aide Program, part of the Saskatoon Society for the Protection of Children (SSPC), have voted strongly in favour of forming their union with SEIU-West.