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:
Win of the Week! January 7-13
A member who experienced a longstanding issue in their JJE classification was just awarded $27,000 after SEIU-West and the Employer went to the Dispute Resolution Tribunal. This member had just retired as well – what a great retirement gift! Thanks to the persistence of this member and their union!
Rebecca – Direct Support Worker at Variety Place
"I love seeing participants become more comfortable in the pool!" - Rebecca.
Win of the Week! December 31-January 6
SEIU-West is happy to see that Saskatoon has its first Accountable Care Unit (ACU) and are proud of our Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) members who are newly certified in Structured Interdisciplinary Bedside Rounds (SIBR), one of the defending features of ACU. Way to go LPNs!
2017 Year in Review
2017 Year in Review!
Letter To The Editor – Sick Time Usage Scrutinized
Like the incessant high-pitched buzz of a mosquito in the darkness of a summer’s night, try as you might, slapping yourself silly, the mosquito triumphs, until such time as you turn on the light in order to quash its very existence.
Like a reoccurring cold, yet another virus has wielded its head. There is no defending against this plague, as you’re aware of its imminent arrival, one is simply not given an itinerary.
Sick time usage.
Health-care services should not be publicly undermined. Health-care workers should stay home when sick.
A hospital setting is hardly a place for ill employees, as it compromises patient safety.
But, alas, the court of public opinion will take the spotlight once again. The plague of sick time usage will have its day in the sun, and the critics will have their 15 minutes of fame.
What they neglect to speak about though is the lack of safety in the health-care environment. In particular, the cause of the injuries has so much to do with the insufficient staffing levels and the ‘attendance management’ strategies where management push the ill to attend work to the detriment of infection control.
When will the conversation change to acknowledge the source of the problem? Sadly, we wait for this to occur and it never does.
Yet, eventually, the hype will settle down, things return to normal, until one day, the python strikes again. It’s venom, enough to make you ill.
Martin Been
Saskatoon
Published in The Star Phoenix, Dec 22, 2017
MEDIA RELEASE
Unions launch People Who Care website – just in time for the holiday season
MEDIA RELEASE
Unsafe Staffing is Making Us Sick
MEDIA RELEASE
Irony in Justice?
President's Message: Cape's Corner - Winter 2017
This is our year-end Holiday/Christmas newsletter and I cannot believe how much we have done together as a union over the last twelve months! If you want to see this in Technicolor, check out SEIU-West 2017 Year in Review on YouTube.
December 10 – Human Rights Day
December 10 – Human Rights Day
MEDIA RELEASE
Minister of Finance’s Shell Game
SEIU-West/SAHO Bargaining Update – No. 10
Click here for a printable PDF of SEIU-West/SAHO Bargaining Update – No. 10
Greetings Sisters and Brothers,
Your SEIU-West bargaining committee and our coalition partners, CUPE and SGEU, met with SAHO for five days in Saskatoon (November 23 – 27).
We continued to advance the message that members have shared with us:
NO Cuts, NO Rollbacks, Pay Us What We’re Worth! Treat US With Respect!
We believe the communications that members have sent to government MLAs, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance reinforce the message we are delivering to SAHO.
However, there is a large stumbling block when it comes to joint trusteeship of the EHB (Extended Health & Enhanced Dental Benefits) plan. SAHO wants the health services provider unions to agree to let the Employers stop paying the premiums into the plan for a period of time but they are unwilling to commit to the unions becoming joint trustees of the plan, like for our pension plan. We are not agreeable to put the EHB plan at risk.
Another significant stumbling block was the Employers’ monetary offer over the proposed length of the term of the Collective Agreement. There are other issues that remain unresolved as well.
At the end of this session, the parties agreed we were not going to reach agreement on all the issues at this time. The parties had agreed previously that if our without prejudice talks were unsuccessful each union would return to their individual bargaining table to resume formal bargaining. Your SEIU-West bargaining committee will be setting future bargaining dates for our individual table with SAHO. SAHO indicated that the government mandate of a cut of 3.5% to compensation remains on the table.
While we would like to thank all of our members who have shared our message with their employers, SAHO and the government – redouble your efforts. We need your voices to reinforce that cuts and rollbacks are not acceptable. Help us to eliminate the cuts and concessions that the government has put on our shoulders; call your MLA, send an email, ask for a meeting. Ensure that your emails are copied to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Finance. Tell them they need to change their mandate. Tell them we cannot provide patient first health care services if the Government and SAHO continue to put us last!
If you would like assistance writing a letter to the editor or to your MLA, please email us at [email protected]
We encourage you to contact the MRC at 1-888-999-7348 ext. 2298 to ask any further questions. Please watch for updates on our website. You can also follow our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
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; Simone Corriveau; 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