There is currently a vacancy on the SEIU-West Executive Board for members that work for the Community Based Organizations Sector.
Pinned
Virtual town halls (VTHs) were scheduled for the evenings of May 27 and 28 to update SEIU-West members about SAHO bargaining and answer bargaining questions. Unfortunately, the VTH on May 27 ran into major technical glitches. We apologize if you were one of the hundreds of members whose experienced this failure. We were not satisfied that the supplier of the VTH platform would be able to properly fix these problems in time, so we decided to cancel the May 28 VTH.
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.
Disclaimer: the following information is based on what SEIU-West found on publicly available federal government websites. This information is subject to change as it comes from outside sources. We will update this post further as information becomes available.
We couldn't be more proud of our members and the work they do for the people of Saskatchewan. Felix is one of those members.
The Multicultural Mentorship Committee (MMC) recently hosted a “Coffee Break” zoom meeting with the Saskatoon Open Door Society. We invited members, their families, and their communities to attend.
We wanted to share with you some of what we learned.
November 20-28, 2021 is Saskatchewan Multicultural Week. This year, the Multicultural Association of Saskatchewan is asking us to celebrate Saskatchewan Multicultural week by having residents share stories with the hashtag #TogetherWeMakeSaskatchewanStrong.
We couldn't be more proud of our members, so we are highlighting some of our multicultural members this week. Meet Manu.
The SEIU-West Nursing Care Committee is pleased to present the first-ever SEIU-West Family of Nursing Conference.
This one-day virtual event will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, December 7 from 9:30-4:30.
There will be a variety of speakers and activities, with a focus on care workers' mental health during and after the pandemic.
It is open to SEIU-West members who are LPNs, CCAs, ORTs, or who have similar caregiving jobs in group homes and care homes (e.g. DCW/DSW).
Space is limited to 50 participants. You can apply to attend by filling out the online Expression of Interest form.
Deadline for applying is Monday, November 22 at 9:00 AM. The Nursing Care Committee will review all applications, and will notify you on or before November 25 whether or not you have been selected to attend.
Every two years, afterh their convention, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) Executive Council restructures their Standing Committees.
For Immediate Release
SGEU, SEIU-West and CUPE – three Saskatchewan unions representing health care providers – are concerned by the legitimacy of a recent statement by Premier Scott Moe who claimed his government has followed through on a commitment to hire additional Continuing Care Assistant (CCA) positions for home care and long-term care services.
Earlier this month, the government issued a news release and the premier claimed on Twitter that his government has filled 95 of the 108 CCA positions they committed to hiring in the 2020-2021 provincial budget. These additional health care staff were meant to address understaffed home care and long-term care services across the province but were far less than the 300 new CCAs Moe promised during the 2020 election campaign.
“The Premier wants people to believe that he’s recruited new CCAs into home care and long term care,” said Barbara Cape, President of SEIU-West. “But, the latest numbers the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) supplied to SEIU-West show that this is simply not true. In fact, most of the new hires were already working as CCAs in the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), often in the same facility or program, and the vast majority of these new positions are designated as temporary and/or part-time.”
“The province’s health and long-term care systems have struggled for many years due to understaffing and the government’s continuing mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused even more strain,” said Tanya Schmidt, Acting Chair of the SGEU Health Providers Bargaining Committee. “Now, instead of hiring new staff, the government is trying to squeeze a few extra hours out of an already overworked CCA workforce and that isn’t going to solve the problem for staff or the residents, clients and patients in their care.”
“The government needs to get serious about addressing a staffing crisis that has plagued Saskatchewan’s health and long-term care systems for over a decade,” said Bashir Jalloh, President of CUPE 5430. “Some people thought the premier was finally acknowledging the staffing problem in the system when he promised to hire 300 additional CCAs during the 2020 election campaign but that commitment was watered down to 108 positions in the last budget. Now, we aren’t convinced any meaningful action will occur since we can’t even confirm the existence of the new positions the government claims to have hired.”
“Sadly, due to the provincial government’s inaction, the situation in our health and long-term care systems has become untenable,” Cape added. “In many long-term care facilities today, seniors are not receiving even the most basic levels of care without assistance from their family members because of inadequate staffing levels. It’s unacceptable for Premier Moe to pat himself on the back by claiming to have hired dozens of new staff when that can’t be verified by any of the three unions representing health care providers.”
SGEU, CUPE and SEIU-West represent over 30,000 health care providers working in
acute care, home care, public health and long-term care across the province.
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To download a PDF of this release, please click here.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Tria Donaldson, CUPE 306-531-6247 | Christine Miller, SEIU-West 306-477-8733 | Carolyn Rebeyka, SGEU 306-519-2903
SEIU-West and other unions asked the following questions.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) provided the responses.
This document simply communicates the responses of the SHA, and is in no way to be taken that SEIU-West agrees with or endorses the SHA responses.
On November 10, SEIU-West, SGEU, and CUPE sent a letter to Everett Hindley, the Minster for Seniors and Rural and Remote Health, about his government's misleading claims about their promise to hire more Continuing Care Assistants.
SEIU-WEST GUIDANCE ON NON-SHA EMPLOYER POLICIES RE PROOF OF COVID-19 VACCINATION
November 12, 2021
On October 1, 2021, the Saskatchewan Government authorized all employers to require that their employees prove that either:
- They are fully-vaccinated against COVID; or
- Have had a recent negative COVID test.
SEIU-West’s responsibility as a union is to represent our membership’s rights, in a manner free from arbitrariness, bias or unreasonableness.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic SEIU-West has worked to address our members’ pandemic-related questions, needs, and concerns. We’ve made employers, the government and the public take notice of the vital service you’ve provided throughout the pandemic. We’ve fought to ensure you have access to appropriate personal protective equipment and mental health supports.
While the healthcare sector (Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and affiliates) has been a focus (see for example our guidance on SHA COVID vaccination policies here) we want to make clear that we also continue to represent the interests of our members in education, retirement homes, community based organizations (CBOs), light industrial and allied sectors.
The following is meant as general guidance about employer vaccination policies for SEIU-West members working for non-SHA employers. It is based on questions we have received from members, our review of employer policies, and relevant legal authorities. We will update this document if and when we receive further information. Because the details and application of an employer’s COVID vaccination policy vary from one employer to another, please contact the Member Resource Centre (MRC) at 1-888-999-7348 Ext 2298 or [email protected] if you have specific questions.
Laurie is a Medical Radiation Technologist (MRT) who is also a CLXT. She works in a one room X-ray department so there is only one tech working each day. She also has some days where she works in the lab. On weekends and on call, there is one person working in both lab and X-ray.
SEIU-West, SGEU, and CUPE have sent a letter to Premier Scott Moe to once again reach out about the staffing crisis in Saskatchewan's health care system and are proposing the creation of a Health Human Resources Council. Read the full letter...
SEIU-West members who work for the five Extendicare facilities in Saskatchewan – Elmview, Moose Jaw, Parkside, Preston, and Sunset – are invited to join President Barbara Cape and Director of Contract Bargaining and Enforcement Bob Laurie for an update on bargaining and the transition to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHC).