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:
SEIU-West celebrates Therapy Assistants Week September 15-21!
Therapy Assistants who are members of SEIU-West typically work as Occupational Therapy Assistants and/or Physiotherapy Assistants (OTPT). These members of the health care team work to improve their client’s quality of life by supporting their ability to maximize movement, which contributes significantly to their client’s everyday activities. This vital part of their job rehabilitates their clients to their peak abilities. Another key skill that Therapy Assistants must have is their ability to communicate. Many of their clients have diverse needs, so it is important for Therapy Assistants to recognize these differences and accommodate accordingly.
Therapy Assistants utilize a variety of tools to assist their clients such as tilt tables, parallel bars and lifts, as well as pools due to the benefits of physical movement under water.
The work of Therapy Assistants is fundamental to the health care team as they help improve the confidence and lives of those who they care for.
To show our appreciation of the valuable contributions Therapy Assistants makes to our health care team, we are launching our Therapy Assistants Contest!
To enter, tell us why Therapy Assistants are important to you – whether you’re a coworker or a client, there are so many reasons Therapy Assistants bring value to our lives! Email your answers to [email protected] by September 26, 2019 for your chance to win one of several awesome prizes!
Celebrate Environmental Services Week - September 8-14!
For the week of September 8-14, SEIU-West is proud to celebrate Environmental Services Week!
Environmental Service Workers (ESWs) have a vital role on the health care team. They provide professional services that ensure our health care environments are clean and safe. ESWs understand the importance of infection control for patients, clients, residents and staff, especially in a health care setting. They therefore have the skills to provide quality housekeeping while following infection control practices to reduce the risks to all those who live, work, and visit a health care environment.
The daily responsibilities of ESWs also involves heavy lifting and the use of dangerous substances. They know how to safely handle these everyday challenges while protecting themselves and those around them. We are proud to celebrate the health care heroes that are ESWs and in recognition, we are holding a contest so that you can nominate an ESW who really makes a difference in your workplace. Maybe it is the way they brighten everyone’s day, the incredible job they do, or the care and concern they demonstrate to residents, patients or co-workers.
Please send in your nominations, along with a sentence or two as to why they deserve to win to [email protected] by September 19, 2019. Your nominee could win one of several great prizes!
SALPN Professional Development Day: Apply to have your Registration Costs Covered!
The SALPN 2019 Professional Development Day is being held at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon on October 23, 2019. Please visit this link to find added information. The Education Committee is pleased to sponsor the registration fees for up to fifteen (15) delegates to attend. We will only cover registration costs, and not lost wages, travel costs, and expenses for those members who are selected.
If you are an SEIU-West member working in a LPN classification and you are interested in attending this conference we ask you to:
- Complete this SEIU-West Expression of Interest Application form
- If you are selected, you must send receipt of your registration and a copy of your CEP certificate that will be sent to you following the training
Your completed Expression of Interest (EOI) form must be received in our office on or before September 25, 2019.
Please forward your completed EOI form to:
Colleen Denniss & Brenda Coben, Co-Chairs, Education Committee
#200 – 747 46th Street W, Saskatoon, SK S7L 6A1
Fax: 306-652-1392
Those selected must be a dues paying member in good standing and are required to submit a brief report to the SEIU-West Executive Board through the Education Committee Chairs following the completion of the event. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this regard.
President's Message: What does Labour Day mean to you?
This President's Message will be featured in the Star Phoenix and Leader Post as a special feature for Labour Day.
What does Labour Day mean to you?
For some people, this is back to school time; for others, it’s an unofficial end to summer; but for me, I reflect on the work of our members and the people we serve. I also reflect on the history of our labour movement – where we were, where we are today and what we want to do in the future.
Lately, it’s been a little too easy to vilify unionized workers. I think that’s a cheap and easy target. And it needs to stop.
The benefits that unions have negotiated didn’t happen overnight but over decades. And we work to ensure that the benefits we have negotiated are shared with those who don’t yet have a union: weekends; sick leave; disability insurance; domestic violence leave; improvements to minimum wage… all of these things (and so many more) come from years of negotiations and lobbying by unions of every stripe. All working people put their maximum effort into their job and that needs to be recognized and respected.
Today, all workplaces are changing. There are efficiency efforts; automation; downsizing; or ‘transformational change’ that affects everyone’s ability to bring home a pay cheque, support our families, or even simply to have meaning to our lives. Change is inevitable, but it needs to be thoughtful. Working people are not widgets but they are invested in their workplaces and loyal to their employers. We need to remember that they are a vital resource that is being overlooked in many cases; there needs to be consultation with front line staff who are the experts in their area and can provide valuable insight into improvements.
Trade unions must embrace new forms of technology and new forms of worker organizations to create space for the gig economy and a changing demographic. As a union leader, I believe that there is a way to celebrate and acknowledge our historical work, while embracing a more culturally diverse and technologically advanced workforce.
The future of our province and our labour movement is in the hands of working people. We have an opportunity to join together, have a voice in our workplaces, lobby for improved safety legislation and to improve the minimum wage for both young workers and the under employed. The principles of solidarity, understanding and being our brother’s and sister’s keeper need to be re-affirmed by all of us. These are core values of the labour movement, and the province of Saskatchewan.
I’m personally inviting you to join us in our efforts to improve the lives of working people and their families. Help lead the way to a more just and humane society that welcomes all people, champions dignity and respect, and allows everyone to have a voice on the job and in society.
We’re Stronger Together.
Happy Labour Day!
In solidarity,
Barb Cape
Win of the Week! August 25-31
SEIU-West is happy to share yet another win that demonstrates the power of our union. A member was on leave and returned to work hoping to pick up shifts. However, the member was not getting any calls. When SEIU-West approached the employer about this issue, it turned out the employer was using invalid contact information and was placing blame on the member for not getting back to them. The employer even aimed to terminate the member based on this communication failure but as SEIU-West found out, the employer was not using the formal processes in place to find current contact information, and was rather relying on old data. SEIU-West stressed the importance of using current contact information, and now this member is fully reinstated and receiving calls for shifts. It is vital that we work together to ensure workers have a strong, united voice in the workplace – had this member not had the strength of their union behind them, their livelihood would have been at risk. Please join us in celebrating this important win of the week!
Purple Organizes a Donation Drive in Swift Current!
SEIU-West health care providers in Swift Current are organized a food and donation drive for their local food bank and crisis centre in late August. Our members not only provide care to those in need, they volunteer their time to support organizations that address the gaps for access to basic needs due to the vast inequality that exists in our society – it’s vital that we join together because when unions and community work together for social, environmental, and economic justice, we can achieve our common goals in making our communities better places to live and work.
Win of the Week! August 18-24
Recently, a member and their SEIU-West Representative (Staff Rep) were in an investigation meeting. It became known that the member was experiencing critical mental health concerns so the Staff Rep shut down the meeting immediately in order to support the member in need. The Staff Rep recommended 211 Saskatchewan (a free, confidential, 24/7 service that connects individuals to human services in the province by telephone, text, or web chat - visit https://sk.211.ca/ to search for services in your community) to the member and arranged transportation to the help required, ensuring they had a way home.
A few days later, our Staff Rep received a thank you from the member who was so grateful to their union for providing the support they needed. This win of the week is a reminder to all members that in your union, you are never alone. If you are experiencing mental health concerns, we have protocols in place to support you – please don’t hesitate to contact our Member Resource Centre (MRC) – as always, we are stronger together.
SAHO/SEIU-West Bargaining Bulletin (2nd edition) No. 5
(Click here for a printable PDF of this Bargaining Bulletin.)
Date: August 22, 2019
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Your SEIU-West bargaining committee met with SAHO and the SHA Employer on August 19, 20 and 21 in Saskatoon. Our goal – our mandate – at these negotiations is quite simple: we represent you, our members, at the bargaining table and you have indicated that you want a fair and equitable collective agreement that treats you with respect and that you can accept.
There are very few items that are outstanding; but one pretty outstanding issue is getting a fair monetary package.
The parties are close on the last few language issues related to interpersonal violence leave; Disability Income Plan; and meal periods. Some of these changes are driven by the Government of Saskatchewan changing The Saskatchewan Employment Act; we want to make sure that we are compliant.
When our members voted against the last tentative agreement, we heard you loud and clear it was because it was wholly insufficient to address the rising cost of living; it contained no plan to address getting and keeping an adequate staff complement to manage the increased workload and reduce the stress members are experiencing on the frontlines of health care; and we heard your demand for fairness and equity. We have explained this in very clear terms to elected politicians, SAHO and the SHA. But they don’t seem to be hearing your message!
SAHO has continued to hold to the same mandate that our members have rejected. We need you to provide clarity to them. 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 concept of fairness; how a fair monetary package can be used to recruit and retain quality staff. And don’t let them dazzle you with their ‘new’ math comparing their base wage of over $98,000 to our wages (www.seiuwest.ca/respondtomofputcarefirst); don’t forget that they get allowances, benefits and premiums for additional responsibilities. 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 Bargaining and Contract Enforcement); Russell Doell (Deputy Dir. of Bargaining and Contract Enforcement); Cam McConnell (Negotiations Officer) • President: Barbara Cape
President's Message: Response to the Minister of Finance
Recently, SEIU-West launched a campaign to raise the issue of understaffing in health care. We want to ensure that our patients, clients and residents have the necessary staff in all aspects of our system in order to live up to a promise of safe, professional world class health care that puts the patients first. But without the necessary staff in place, that promise can’t be kept.
We are reaching out to the staff in health care and people who access to our health care system, in order to build a demand for investment in front line health care providers. We are also reaching out to the general public in order to educate and motivate them to join us in this campaign.
Recently, the Minister of Finance, Donna Harpauer began responding with quite possibly the most glaring example of missing the point! In her template replies, she attempts to justify the wages paid to elected MLA’s ($98,000+) as a base salary in comparison to wages paid to front line health care staff. So let’s take a look:
- The MLA base wage is $98,395.00/year. They received a 3.5% cost of living increase last year, and a 2.3% cost of living adjustment again on April 1 of 2019. Minister of Finance missed the point because health care workers don’t have that as a base salary and don’t get automatic wage increases based on cost of living increases!
- The Board of Internal Economy sets the increases. The Minister of Finance missed the point because this is essentially the MLA’s (and Speaker) establishing their own wage increases!
- This amount doesn’t address the additional allowances received for everything from Legislative Secretary to committee Chair/co-chair to Speaker to Premier to…well, you get the idea! Health care workers don’t get those kinds of allowances for additional duties – extra duties just get rolled into our everyday work! The Minister of Finance missed the point that we are required to do more, with less…less wages, less staff, and less support!
- This campaign is about ending understaffing and investing in front line health care staff. The Minister of Finance missed the point when she failed to address this as the core issue in the campaign and instead justified MLA salaries!
I get it, Minister Harpauer seems to believe that there is a false equivalency between comparing the critical work of front line health care workers with elected politicians. But the irony isn’t lost on any of us that there isn’t a shortage of people running for elected office while there is a clear shortage of staff in front line health care.
If you have received this reply from our Minister of Finance, we urge you to join the many others who have sent her a second message indicating that she missed the point: we need real answers, and real action.
We want to get down to the work of providing safe, professional health care services, so let’s focus on the issue of staffing, instead of justifying politician wages. We’ve called for a roundtable to talk about staffing levels with government, the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the unions representing people. And we encourage you to share the safe staffing campaign with your neighbours, friends, family and colleagues…our system depends on it! Together, our province can make sure patients, residents, clients, and health care providers have access to a safe and quality health care system – together, we can put care first.
In solidarity,
Barbara Cape
Unionism in Practice: Online Application
Unionism in Practice is designed for any steward or unit officer who has completed a minimum of Shop Steward – Level 1. This one day course to be held in October in Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, and Swift Current will provide sessions on Union principles and tips for meeting with management and grievance handling. We are also providing a session on healthy workplaces and mental health issues in the work place.
The deadline to apply has passed.
Win of the Week! August 11-17
This week, our union found out (through the media) that the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) was planning to provide a ‘Whistleblower Hotline’ service. With reporting services already in place, this was an unnecessary and costly step that did not address the major issue in health care – understaffing. As a result, SEIU-West also went to the media to share our serious concerns (you can read our media release here) about how the costs associated with this Hotline should be used as resources towards front line care. Later that day, the SHA withdrew the Hotline proposal thanks to our push-back. This week’s win is yet another example demonstrating that when we fight, we win!
Media Release: Whistleblower Line
For Immediate Release: August 14, 2019
Saskatoon – Members of SEIU-West were surprised to learn that on August 12, 2019, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) posted a request for proposal (RFP) on SaskTenders for the provision of a “Whistleblower Hotline” service.