Last year, SEIU created a survey for members about climate change and the impact on your lives.
Pinned
June is National Indigenous Peoples Month. This is a time to honour the rich history, resilience, and diversity of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples. It is an opportunity to reflect on historical and current injustices and commit to true reconciliation in Canada.
The First Nations, Métis and Inuit Committee would like to share some events and resources with you and encourage you to participate in events in your area.
SEIU-West is hosting our first Asian Pacific Islander Summit in Saskatoon on September 24-26, 2026 — an event to bring together workers from across Canada and the U.S.
Being an API member in Canada or the U.S can sometimes feel isolating. You might not have seen yourself in leadership. You may not have always felt seen or understood. But you can find a home with us. We believe in you. We see you. And most importantly, you belong.
Welcome home.
There is currently a vacancy on the SEIU-West Executive Board for members that work for the Community Based Organizations Sector.
You may have noticed there hasn't been an announcement about bbqs for the summer yet.
The SEIU-West First Nations, Métis and Inuit Committee (FNMIC) is hosting a contest to design an image for orange shirts that the committee provides yearly to members. Submit your design to enter to win a $100 Co-op gift card.
Find out more about the SAHO Tentative Agreement Vote; Vaccinations; Extendicare; and Family Literacy Day contest.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 14, 2021
Health Care Unions Wary of Government eHealth Priorities
Regina & Saskatoon – The unions representing information technologists within the Saskatchewan Health Authority are concerned about the recent investigation report released by the Saskatchewan Information & Privacy Commissioner, and the ongoing plan for the SHA to transfer all Information Technology assets (except for digital health) including employees to eHealth.
“To date there have been far too many unanswered questions; now we have discovered through Mr. Kruzeniski’s report that the board and leadership of eHealth is in disarray. We know that this is not the first time that the eHealth Board has been removed by the Sask Party government. A similar removal occurred in 2018. Top leadership of the organization also has been changed by the Ministry of Health. For the protection of our members and for the security of private health information for all in Saskatchewan, we believe that the pattern of chaos needs to be curbed and an identifiable period of stability established prior to any contemplation of the need for the move of valuable IT services out of the control of our provincial health authority. Trust badly needs to be restored.” says Barbara Cape, President of SEIU-West.
SEIU-West and CUPE 5430 leaders are not confident that the IT systems, supports and communication needs of the SHA can be met by eHealth. Nor do the union leaders believe that continuing to push this agenda of the Health Authority shedding responsibility will improve controls and monitorship of IT network access or increase testing of disaster recovery plans. The recent investigation and recommendations made reinforce ongoing concerns of SHA employees who are slated to transfer to eHealth.
At present, both the SHA and the Ministry of Health retain custody and responsibility for their IT services with an explicit duty to protect that information. Mr. Kruzeniski’s report confirms this continuing obligation. The unions believe that this oversight duty should prevail as a best practice.
Sandra Seitz, President of CUPE 5430, states, “Now, more than ever before, it is time to pause and fully contemplate the big picture. When the Privacy Commissioner expresses a lack of accountability and transparency on the part of all parties in reporting and managing this privacy breach and ransomware attack, it is so obvious that the decision to transfer all assets to eHealth needs to be reconsidered following the independent governance, management and program review of eHealth directed to be completed by the Minister of Health.”
IT employees of SHA and their union representatives have been engaged in endless restructuring talks since 2018.
Seitz adds, “Now is an opportune time to look at the real problems that exist - instead of stubbornly insisting upon jamming all assets into one organization that has not demonstrated responsible cyber security processes and policies, effective monitoring and controls, economies of scale or adequate incident response. We also recognize that government investment in IT systems infrastructure has been lacking for many years – cobbling together multiple aging IT systems is a recipe for these kinds of disasters.”
Cape agrees and states, “Despite dire warnings, privacy breaches and the recent ransomware attacks our government does not rate the security of personal and private health information as a priority. At the same time, we must extend our appreciation for those employees within eHealth and SHA who are doing their best to keep our IT systems together in the midst of an environment of dated systems and a lack of oversight.”
SEIU-West and CUPE represent health care providers including those who are employed in IT services who work in nine of the former health authorities.
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For more information, contact:
Christine Miller, SEIU-West Communications: 306-477-8733
Tria Donaldson, CUPE Communications: 306-531-6247
Click here to download the PDF of this media release: Health Care Unions Wary of Government eHealth Priorities
Saskatoon, January 12, 2021
Click here to download a printable PDF file of Canadian Blood Services: Bargaining Update No. 3
For Immediate Release, January 12, 2021
Saskatoon – SEIU-West calls for the Saskatchewan government, Ministry of Health and Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to stop the blame game and begin to communicate with health providers on the best strategy for a real plan for access to vaccinations.
Date: January 12, 2021
Greetings Sisters and Brothers at Extendicare,
As you are aware, SEIU-West has reached a tentative agreement with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) for our members who work for the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and its affiliates and who are covered under the SAHO/SEIU-West Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Tucked away in the kitchen of the Last Mountain Pioneer Home in Strasbourg, Saskatchewan, you'll find Crystal.
As a Dietary Aid, Crystal spends her shift doing food preparation for the home's cook.
She lays out the dining settings for her residents and then serves them their delicious, home-cooked meals.
It's an aspect of the job she loves the most.
After everybody has enjoyed their meal, Crystal heads back to wash and sanitize the dishes.
Then the process begins all over again, to get ready for the next meal.
As Dietary Aid, Crystal has completed the Food Safe Course.
Her training in Transfers, Lifts & Repositioning (TLR) and Gentle Persuasive Approach (GPA) helps her deliver resident-centered, compassionate care.
Thank you for everything you do Crystal!
Important information for SEIU-West members who work for the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) or affiliates on how to vote on the Tentative Agreement the week of January 11, 2021!! Please take a moment to listen, even if you've already registered to vote.
Haven't registered to vote? Click here for everything you need to know.
Date: December 15, 2020
Greetings Sisters and Brothers,
The Union and the Employer have met nine times since the commencement of negotiations on June 24, 2020. COVID-19 has played a major role on how we conduct our bargaining process, every meeting, whether it’s a caucus with our committee or bargaining with the Employer, is all done on-line through virtual meeting rooms. It’s not ideal, however, it is the way of the world we live in for the foreseeable future.
Each January, 3sHealth Employee Benefits performs an eligibility measure for all other-than-full-time employees. This year’s measure will determine if an employee is eligible for coverage effective January 1, 2021 based on the hours they worked from January 1 to December 31, 2020. An employee must work a minimum of 780 hours in the complete calendar year to be eligible for benefits. The annual measure will run on Thursday, January 7, 2021 and the eligibility results will be available Friday, January 18, 2021. For the employers who subscribe to 3sHealth payroll, a benefits bulletin will be sent to you to advise when the results are ready for your review. For those employers who do not subscribe to 3sHealth payroll, we will start sending the eligibility results to you on Monday, January 11, 2021.
The SEIU-West Education Committee is pleased to announce that all of the 2020 Scholarship Winners have been awarded and the winners have been notified.
Each year, the quality of the applications makes the\is selection process difficult. The committee wants to thank everyone who applied in 2020 and encourage all interested and qualified to do so in 2021. If you're interested in applying for the 2021 scholarship, click here for more information and to download the application form.
All young worker participants (35 and under) who participated in 2020's YWC COVID19 survey and who are members of SEIU-West were entered to win a Samsung Galaxy tablet!
As you well know by now, there is an upcoming vote on the Tentative Agreement (TA) reached by the SEIU-West bargaining committee and SAHO in late November.
The info meetings through December were well attended and the voting registration process is now underway.
If you have yet to register please do so here at your earliest convenience.
If you have questions about the TA, you can call the MRC at 1-888-999-7348 at ext 2249. You can also checkout the Q&As here – all of the questions raised at the recent Virtual Town hall meetings, posted with answers. If you need further info, please do not hesitate to send your question to [email protected] or use the Contact form on this website.
Our work now is focused upon having maximum engagement and participation within our membership – we are working hard to adjust to COVID and our electronic/on-line means of communicating.
We want each of you to have the information you need to make an informed choice on January 11.
Help us to attain our goal – get informed, register to vote and cast your online ballot!