Pinned

Have Your Say! SEIU Climate Survey

In 2024, Canada experienced yet another record-breaking. year of extreme weather events driven by climate change, including heat waves, wildfires, and floods. Scientists project an increase in these events in the coming years.

Nominations: Shelly Banks Above & Beyond Award 2025

This award has been established to honour Shelly Banks who led by example and served as SEIU-West vice-president from 2008-2015.

Her invaluable and outstanding contributions have made a significant and lasting impact on our members and our union.

N/52nds Overpayment

If you are an SEIU-West member working for the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and you receive a communication from your employer indicating that you owe them money back for an N/52nds overpayment, please:

Info Pickets

Info pickets provide an opportunity for SEIU-West members to send a message to their employer and to the general public, that bargaining needs to progress and SEIU-West members deserve a fair contract!

Janice Platzke Receives Larry Hubich Lifetime of Service Award

We are so excited to announce that your SEIU-West Treasurer, Janice Platzke, received the Larry Hubich Lifetime of Service Award at the 2024 Saskatchewan Federation of Labour Convention in late October. Congratulations, Janice!

Here's what her nominator had to say about Janice and her years of service:

SEIU-West/SAHO Bargaining Update No. 1

Print off your copy of your SEIU-West/SAHO Bargaining Update No.1

Greetings Sisters and Brothers,

On March 7, the coalition of health provider unions (SEIU-West, CUPE and SGEU) had our first meeting with the Sask. Association of Healthcare Organizations (SAHO) to begin the process of bargaining our new collective agreements. The parties did not formally exchange proposal packages, rather our discussions dealt with processes (traditional or collaborative) of negotiations, logistics, and some of the outside factors that could influence bargaining. When we talk about ‘outside factors’ we mean government.

You see government is not supposed to interfere in collective bargaining; while it is the funder of health care, the system is run by the regional health authorities. The theory behind this relationship is to let the employers (RHA’s) and their negotiator (SAHO) achieve the best deal at the bargaining table without the influence/interference of politicians. Sadly, for everyone involved, government decided to interfere significantly.

In the middle of our meeting, while the provider unions were caucusing, SAHO came back into the room to deliver a message on behalf of the Minister of Finance. As many of you will have heard or read about, the Minister of Finance wrote to each union to outline that government Ministers and Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA’s) were being asked to take a 3.5% wage reduction. Further to that, their political staffers were going to agree (voluntold?) to nine unpaid days off per year (equivalent to 3.5%). We were then ‘invited’ to give the government our ideas around how the unions were going to achieve the savings target within the public sector.

Let’s be clear here, politicians make a heck of a lot more than most health care workers; the base salary of an MLA is approximately $96,000/year…a 3.5% reduction brings their salary down to approximately $93,000/year. Compare that same 3.5% reduction for someone working on the front line of health care for $20-$30/hour… a 3.5% reduction is like losing approximately two weeks of pay per year! That is a significantly different impact on a household budget!!

This hard target by the Sask Party government comes literally in the middle of our very first meeting with SAHO and the health regions to begin bargaining. The provider unions are now facing the threat of concession demands at the bargaining table, another reorganization of the health care structure (and the inevitable resulting chaos), changes in the governance of our benefit plans, and now this?!

This round of bargaining is going to be difficult, it’s going to be troubled and it’s going to test all of us. You have heard this before, every round of bargaining is more difficult than the last. We need all of our members to stand up with their union bargaining committee to demonstrate your support and determination that we need a fair and reasonable collective agreement that we can accept.

We have decided to set additional dates to meet after the upcoming budget address on March 22, where we may get further information about the Minister of Finance and the government’s targets and directions. We will be meeting with our bargaining committees and our coalition of unions to analyze the potential impact to our proposals and establish bargaining plans.

We encourage you to share your questions and concerns about bargaining with the SEIU-West bargaining committee by contacting us through the Member Resource Center at 1-888-999-7348 Ext 2298 or contact us through the “contact us” form on SEIUWEST.ca.

Your participation in your Union makes your Union strong.

In Solidarity,

Your SEIU-West 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); Kerry Barrett (Negotiations Officer) • President: Barbara Cape

President’s Message: Meet Your SAHO/Extendicare Bargaining Team!

October 20, 2016

Earlier this year, notifications and applications were posted on www.seiuwest.ca for the SAHO/Extendicare Bargaining Conference and Bargaining Committee. On October 2-3, 2016, roughly 110+ SEIU-West health care members engaged in a highly productive and informative two days. At the Conference, we were also pleased to announce who will make up our SAHO and Extendicare Bargaining Committee teams – and I’m happy to share this information with you now:

  • Celeste Dixon – Extendicare Sunset
  • Tanya Ziffle – Extendicare Elmview
  • Lynette Pinfold – Extendicare Moose Jaw
  • Teresa Roux – Extendicare Preston
  • Rick Brown – SHR
  • Simone Corriveau – SHR
  • Colleen Denniss – HHR
  • Brenda Berry – FHHR
  • Donna Gallant – FHHR
  • Judy Denniss – SHR
  • Kim Wyatt – SHR
  • Kim Deitner – SHR
  • Janice Platzke – CHR/SEIU-West Treasurer
  • Russel Doell – Deputy Director, Collective Bargaining and Enforcement (Staff)
  • Kerry Barrett – Negotiations Officer (Staff)
  • Bob Laurie – Director, Collective Bargaining and Enforcement (Staff)
  • Barb Cape – SEIU-West President

The time commitment for the SAHO/Extendicare Bargaining Committee is substantial, and I want to thank each and every single committee member who agreed to taking on such a large undertaking – it certainly was a hard decision to make!

I believe that this group of members, leaders and staff is truly committed to ensuring the best possible collective agreement for all SAHO and Extendicare members – I look forward to working with this great team!

In the meantime, we ask that all our health care members engage in current government initiatives that will affect our public health care system.

Transformational Change in Health Care:

Our provincial government has set out on a path of “Transformational Change” in our Saskatchewan health care system, yet it is riddled with mystery.

“Transformational Change” within health care in Saskatchewan must be questioned and explained – why the lack of clear definitions? Why is there not meaningful consultation? Why is the mandate solely to reduce the number of Regional Health Authorities? Has my government considered other means to ensure efficiency in quality health care?

Members of the public and frontline health care workers deserve transparency – we urge you to send a letter questioning the purpose of health care reform:

Click “Participate” to send a letter through our campaign page to the Minister of Health Jim Reiter!

In Solidarity,

Barb Cape

Take action

RSVP
Virtual Bulletin Board
Contact

Connect with us

Moose Jaw

Phone: 306.693.7922
Fax: 306.692.2807
Address:
39 Athabasca Street West
Moose Jaw, SK S6H 2B6

Saskatoon

Phone: 306.652.1011
Fax: 306.652.1392
Address:
200–747 46th Street West
Saskatoon, SK S7L 6A1

Swift Current

Phone: 306.773.2536
Fax: 306.773.7535
Address:
333 Central Avenue North
Swift Current, SK S9H 0L5