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.
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Celebrate Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR) Week October 11-17!
Health care providers who work in MDR are a vital part of the health care team – their role is especially on everyone’s mind during a pandemic as they protect and strengthen patient safety by ensuring health care equipment is dependable, sterilized, and effective. They inspect, assemble, clean, and decontaminate health care equipment – they must be highly organized and pay attention to each little detail in their work.
SEIU-West members, like Christina who works at Saskatoon City Hospital, received their Sterile Processing certification and each day set up equipment for cleaning and for ordering stock when supplies run low. They deal with a wide variety of instruments and equipment, so no day is the same. Christina and the rest of her MDR team make sure all the health care equipment is safe for future patients.
In recognition of their incredible work, we ask that you email and tell us why those who work in MDR are an important part of the health care team. Email your answers to [email protected] for your chance to win a visa gift card!
Deadline to apply: October 23, 2020.
October 15, 2020--FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Release: Wynyard & Lanigan are #DoneWaiting for Fairness
Wynyard & Lanigan – SEIU-West members who work as health care providers are demonstrating today in these communities to remind the public that they remain without a collective agreement. Frustrations have heightened as negotiations with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) have stalled out largely due to the Sask Party government’s refusal to fund a fair deal.
On September 15, SEIU-West President Barb Cape sent a letter to the leaders of the Saskatchewan Green Party, Saskatchewan Liberals, the Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative Party, the Sask Party, and the New Democratic Party (NDP). We have our first response from the leader of the NDP, Ryan Meili. Read his answers below or click the pdf letter here.
Dear Ms. Cape:
Thank you for taking the time to reach out on these key issues impacting SEIU-West members and their communities. I also want to thank you and your membership for their hard work in these unprecedented times amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
I appreciate the opportunity to share our vision for a better Saskatchewan in response to your questions:
1. Home care service allows people to access health care services without being in hospital or a long-term care home, but since 2014, home care services have been cut by 8% - what will your government do to ensure Saskatchewan’s aging population has access to public home care services?
Saskatchewan’s New Democrats have concerns about the reduction in home care services for seniors under Scott Moe and the Sask. Party. We are committed to building the best home care program in Canada. That includes an additional $50 million for hiring more staff to provide more services so seniors can stay in their homes longer and age in dignity. This commitment includes funding for healthcare staff, as well as other staff like cooks, groundskeepers, and cleaners to ensure seniors have the non-medical supports they need to stay in their homes for as long as they can.
2. The spotlight has shone on health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, but understaffing remains in crisis – what will your government do to ensure residents, patients, and clients have effective staffing levels in order to provide quality health care? This question applies to both long- term care and acute care.
We know short-staffing is the norm on the frontlines of long-term and acute care. Saskatchewan’s New Democrats have committed to investing an additional $100 million to end short staffing in long-term care and acute care to make sure patients in our hospitals and medical facilities can get the healthcare they need when they need it.
Saskatchewan New Democrats are also committed to legislating mandatory minimum care standards in long-term care.
3. Community based organizations (CBOs) provide programs and services to children, those struggling with addictions, people facing mental health challenges, people living with intellectual or physical disabilities, and much more. However, CBOs do not receive stable funding – this results in lower quality care, job insecurity, and low wages. What will your government do to ensure CBOs have stable multi-year funding?
Saskatchewan’s New Democrats value the important work employees in community-based organizations do for their communities and believe it is past time for a fair deal that compensates these workers fairly. Unlike the Sask. Party’s promise of four years of cuts and austerity, we will strive to establish stable and predictable funding for the CBO sector.
4. COVID-19 has left many families and education workers concerned about the education plan – even before the pandemic, many were concerned about overcrowding in classrooms. What will you do to ensure reasonable class sizes and a safety plan for schools across the province?
We know our class sizes were too big before the pandemic, and this situation has only gotten worse in these uncertain times. That is why Saskatchewan’s New Democrats are committed to increasing funding to school divisions by $125 million to allow divisions to hire more teachers, more educational assistants, and more cleaning staff to reduce class size, address complexity in the classroom, and keep our kids safe.
5. Does your party have anything else it wishes to add that will benefit SEIU-West members and their communities?
Saskatchewan’s New Democrats are committed to a $15/hour minimum wage for all Saskatchewan workers. We will also negotiate a fair contract with SEIU-West healthcare workers who have shamefully been left without a contract for more than 1,000 days by Scott Moe and the Sask. Party.
I want to thank you for the invitation to your Facebook Live event. Please also accept my best wishes for your health and safety during the challenging times our province is facing with COVID-19.
Sincerely,
Ryan Meili
Leader of Saskatchewan’s New Democrats
Scroll down to see useful responses to candidate talking points!
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Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Elections Saskatchewan has introduced the option of voting by mail for the 2020 Saskatchewan provincial election.
It's one of the several options you have available to ensure that you can cast your vote for the person who will represent you in the Saskatchewan Legislature for the next four years.
Here's an infographic that lays out what you need to do in order to get your mail-in ballot.
If you have any further questions about voting, please visit elections.sk.ca/voters.
This is the third video in the series of videos SEIU-West has created to help explain the Essential Services process in Saskatchewan when it comes to public sector bargaining. In this video, we explain the steps that need to be in place when negotiating the essential services agreement.
Click here to watch the first video in this series ‘Essential Services Part 1: Impasse.’
Media Release: Cabri and Gull Lake are #DoneWaiting for Fairness
Cabri & Gull Lake – Health care providers who are members of SEIU-West are reminding the public that they are still without a collective agreement. Frustrations are heightened due to a lack of meaningful progress in negotiations with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) largely due to the Sask Party government’s refusal to fund a fair deal.
Food Service Workers are vital to the care of patients, residents, and clients. Those who work in Food Services ensure each person requiring care has their nutritional needs met. Staff and visitors also benefit from the talents of Food Service Workers as they prepare meals with high-quality hygienic standards.
As a part of the health care team, Food Service Workers must take into account the various health care needs of residents and patients - our professional Food Services members make sure that food allergies and dietary needs are taken seriously in order to prevent possible complications that can cause set-backs in recovery and impact a person’s overall health.
SEIU-West members who work in Food Services are central to quality health care, and in recognition of their dedication, we’re launching our Food Services Week Contest!
Tell us about your local Food Services Worker and how they contribute to your health care team – by entering, that Food Services Worker will be entered to win a Visa gift card!
Email [email protected] to enter – the deadline is October 19, 2020!
This year, there are more ways for you to cast your vote for the person who will represent you in the Saskatchewan Legislature for the next four years.
Here's an infographic that lays out the various ways and if you have any further questions about voting, please visit elections.sk.ca/voters.
For Immediate Release - October 6, 2020
Saskatoon – Due to the lack of any meaningful good faith offer from the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO), the SEIU-West bargaining team has served notice of impasse to the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety. SEIU-West members working for the SHA have been without a contract since March 31, 2017.